欲速则不达 (yù sù zé bù dá) — haste makes waste; more haste, less speed

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

欲 is made of 谷, which supplies the sound, and 欠, which relates to the meaning.

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

速 pairs 辵, the walking part, with 束, which is used for its sound; the walking part fits the meaning of moving fast.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 則; 则 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 則 pairs 鼎, a bronze cauldron, with 刂, a knife, possibly showing carving on a bronze vessel; the simplified 则 is a later shorthand.

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 form 达 pairs 辶 (written in full as 辵) with 大 as a sound component.