Six Methods of forming Chinese characters, according to Han dictionary Shuowen 說文|说文 - namely, two primary methods: 象形 (pictogram), 指事 (ideogram), two compound methods: 會意|会意 (combined ideogram), 形聲|形声 (ideogram plus phonetic), and two transfer methods: 假借 (loan), 轉注|转注 (transfer)
Definitions (粵典–words.hk)
名詞
漢字嘅六種造字同運用方式：象形、指事、會意、形聲、轉注、假借 "Six Writings": the six categories of Chinese characters (pictogram, indicative ideogram, combined ideogram, phonetic ideogram, semantic transfer and homophonic transfer)