妙不可言 (miào bù kě yán) — indescribably wonderful, too good for words; (can be used sarcastically) so ridiculous or absurd that words fail

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

妙 combines 女, a woman, with 少, which gives the sound.

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.

可 pairs 口 (mouth) with 丂 as a sound part; it is tied to air from the mouth, perhaps singing.

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.