‘Liù shū’ (the Six Scripts) refers to the traditional classification system for how Chinese characters are formed and structured. Developed during the Han dynasty, it identifies six methods: pictographs (xiàng xíng), simple ideograms (zhǐ shì), compound ideograms (huì yì), phono-semantic compounds (xíng shēng), phonetic loan characters (jiǎ jiè), and derivative cognates (zhuǎn zhù). Each method reflects a different logic—whether visual representation, conceptual combination, or sound-based borrowing.

The term appears primarily in academic, historical, and linguistic contexts, especially when studying classical Chinese philology or character etymology. While modern learners rarely apply all six categories strictly, understanding ‘liù shū’ deepens insight into character logic and helps explain why certain components recur across characters. It is foundational knowledge for serious students of Chinese writing history—not for everyday conversation, but essential for grasping how the script evolved and functions at a structural level.