青蛙
qīng wā · HSK 7
frog
🐸 青 (qīng, green) + 蛙 (wā, frog) = the green frog; wā even sounds like a croak
青 means green/blue-green and 蛙 means frog, so 青蛙 is literally green-frog, the everyday word for frog. The syllable wā echoes a frog's croaking sound.
青 — 生 (growth/sprout) on top + 丹 (well/cinnabar) below
青 originally depicted young plants (生) growing above a mineral pit (丹, cinnabar well), suggesting the fresh blue-green color of new growth and natural pigments. Over time it came to cover a range of cool colors—green, blue, and even black—and by extension means 'young' or 'youthful.'