Quote:
Originally Posted by anrakushi
it is also important to note that as wiki says:
"At present, more than 90% of all Chinese characters are phono-semantic compounds, constructed out of elements intended both to hint at meaning and pronunciation." so the characters are not just built up of elements to show their meaning but their sound as well. you will find many characters with similar elements have the same pronunciation.
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This is right. If I remember correctly, kanji were chosen to represent certain words from one of 4 characteristics: pronunciation, how it looks, or two others...so some kanji mean something VERY different in Chinese .