唱 (chàng) — to sing

唱 is the everyday verb 'to sing' — used for casual singing. 演唱 is for performing on stage; 歌唱 sounds formal, often praising something.

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

The 口 part points to the mouth, while 昌 shows how the character is pronounced.