出言不逊 (chū yán bú xùn) — to speak insolently; to utter arrogant and disrespectful words

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early form of 言 shows an opening and a mark indicating a location; the location is not described as the source of speech.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 遜; 逊 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 遜 pairs 辵 (to walk) with 孫, a part used for the sound. The simplified 逊 is a later shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical parts.