■ radical
shàn
good
How it’s built
Composed of two 言 (speech) components and 羊 (sheep). In ancient China sheep (羊) were associated with goodness and fortune, which is why 羊 is a component in characters like 美 (beautiful), 祥 (auspicious), 善 (benevolent), and 義 (justice).
羊
meaning
sheep; goat
言
sound
speech — The pronunciation of 言 was similar to 善 in old Chinese, but they no longer sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes.
言
sound
speech — The pronunciation of 言 was similar to 善 in old Chinese, but they no longer sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes.
Through the ages