这样
zhèyàng · HSK 2
like this
👉 这 (this) + 样 (kind/manner) = this kind / this way
这 means 'this' and 样 means 'type, kind, manner'. Together 这样 literally reads as 'this manner', extending naturally to 'so, such, like this'. Contrast with 那样 (that way) which swaps 这 for 那 (that).
这 — walk radical 辶 + speech 言
这 is the simplified form of 這. The traditional character combines the walk/movement radical 辶 with 言 (speech), originally meaning 'to meet' or 'to encounter on the way.' Over time it shifted to function as the demonstrative 'this,' likely through phonetic borrowing in vernacular Chinese.
样 — wood radical 木 + sheep 羊
样 is a phono-semantic compound. The wood radical 木 originally hinted at meaning (a wooden model or sample), while 羊 (sheep) supplies the sound. From 'wooden pattern/template' it broadened to mean 'shape, form, kind, manner'.