section_path: Classification/Semantographs/Indicatives
section_name: Indicatives
paragraph_text: Indicatives
  
  Indicatives (指事; zhǐshì), also called simple ideographs or self-explanatory characters, are visual representations of abstract concepts that lack any tangible form. Examples include 上 ('up') and 下 ('down')—these characters were originally written as dots placed above and below a line, and later evolved into their present forms with less potential for graphical ambiguity in context. More complex indicatives include 凸 ('convex'), 凹 ('concave'), and 平 ('flat and level').