竹

zhu

bamboo

Bamboo is used in China as a symbol of longevity due to its long life and evergreen nature, as well as having same pronunciation as wish “祝 [zhù].”

毛

mao

hair, fur, feather

picture of a feather, or a hair and fur growing out of body/stem 

笔

bi

pen(cil)

writing brush

毛笔 Calligraphy brush (lit. hair pen); 铅笔 pencil (lit. lead brush)

圆珠笔 ballpoint pen; 笔记 notes; 笔名 pen name

a bamboo (竹) straw with animal hair (毛) at the tip, symbolizes a brush for writing, now used to refer to any writing tools including pen and pencil.

合

he

combine, join, fit

The character 合 reflects the importance of harmony and unity in Chinese culture. Its etymology highlights the connection between physical joining (亼 and 口) and abstract concepts like agreement and cooperation.

Today, 合 is widely used in contexts related to combining, agreeing, and fitting

答

da

to answer, to reply

bamboo (ji) + join/combine/fit (he)

when in doubt about the deal, join the 'contract' bamboos to get the answer

相

xiang

mutually, each other, appearance

tree (mu) + eye (mu)

man standing in front of a tree, facing each other, to see if it's appearance suggests that is good to cut down for timber

箱

xiang

box, chest, trunk

信箱 mailbox; 工具箱 toolbox

Bamboo (⺮) woven with interlocking joints (相) creates a box (箱)

快

kuai

fast, quick;

happy, pleased

heart(xin) + decisive/resolute (guai)

by resolutely pointing a gun toward other's heart everything is solved fast & quickly, which pleased the gun-owner and made everyone happy

筷

kuai

chopsticks

Bamboo (⺮) that helps you eat quickly (快) = chopsticks (筷)!

间

jian

between, among; space, gap

the portal (门) lets the sun (日) through thanks to the gap between the door and the doorframe

简

jian

simple, concise;

a letter

Before paper was invented, Chinese were writing on a flat bamboo (竹) with a little space (间) so their style needed to be simple and concise  

夭

yao

young;

tender, gentle 

line (pie) + person/big (da)

a man treats his hairstyle with a tenderness and gentleness when he is young

笑

xiao

to laugh, to smile

those who wants to stay young as long as a bamboo remains green should laugh and smile