Each character of the script represented a single Old Chinese word.
 Most scholars believe that these words were monosyllabic, though some have recently suggested that a minority of them had minor presyllables.
 The development of these characters follows the same three stages that characterized Egyptian hieroglyphs, Mesopotamian cuneiform script and the Maya script.

Some words could be represented by pictures (later stylized) such as 日 rì 'sun', 人 rén 'person' and 木 mù 'tree, wood', by abstract symbols such as 三 sān 'three' and 上 shàng 'up', or by composite symbols such as 林 lín 'forest' (two trees).

About 1,000 of the oracle bone characters, nearly a quarter of the total, are of this type, though 300 of them have not yet been deciphered.

Though the pictographic origins of these characters are apparent, they have already undergone extensive simplification and conventionalization.

Evolved forms of most of these characters are still in common use today.

Next, words that could not be represented pictorially, such as abstract terms and grammatical particles, were signified by borrowing characters of pictorial origin representing similar-sounding words (the "rebus strategy"):
The word lì 'tremble' was originally written with the character 栗 for lì 'chestnut'.

The pronoun and modal particle qí was written with the character 其 originally representing jī 'winnowing basket'.

Sometimes the borrowed character would be modified slightly to distinguish it from the original, as with 毋 wú 'don't', a borrowing of 母 mǔ 'mother'.

Later, phonetic loans were systematically disambiguated by the addition of semantic indicators, usually to the less common word:
The word lì 'tremble' was later written with the character 慄, formed by adding the symbol ⺖, a variant of 心 xīn 'heart'.

The less common original word jī 'winnowing basket' came to be written with the compound 箕, obtained by adding the symbol 竹 zhú 'bamboo' to the character.

Such phono-semantic compound characters were already used extensively on the oracle bones, and the vast majority of characters created since then have been of this type.

In the Shuowen Jiezi, a dictionary compiled in the 2nd century, 82% of the 9,353 characters are classified as phono-semantic compounds.

In the light of the modern understanding of Old Chinese phonology, researchers now believe that most of the characters originally classified as semantic compounds also have a phonetic nature.

These developments were already present in the oracle bone script, possibly implying a significant period of development prior to the extant inscriptions.

This may have involved writing on perishable materials, as suggested by the appearance on oracle bones of the character 册 cè 'records'.

The character is thought to depict bamboo or wooden strips tied together with leather thongs, a writing material known from later archaeological finds.

Development and simplification of the script continued during the pre-Classical and Classical periods, with characters becoming less pictorial and more linear and regular, with rounded strokes being replaced by sharp angles.

The language developed compound words, so that characters came to represent morphemes, though almost all morphemes could be used as independent words.

Hundreds of morphemes of two or more syllables also entered the language, and were written with one phono-semantic compound character per syllable.

During the Warring States period, writing became more widespread, with further simplification and variation, particularly in the eastern states.

The most conservative script prevailed in the western state of Qin, which would later impose its standard on the whole of China.
Each character of the script represented a single Old Chinese word.  Most scholars believe that these words were monosyllabic, though some have recently suggested that a minority of them had minor presyllables.  The development of these characters follows the same three stages that characterized Egyptian hieroglyphs, Mesopotamian cuneiform script and the Maya script.
Some words could be represented by pictures (later stylized) such as 日 rì 'sun', 人 rén 'person' and 木 mù 'tree, wood', by abstract symbols such as 三 sān 'three' and 上 shàng 'up', or by composite symbols such as 林 lín 'forest' (two trees).
About 1,000 of the oracle bone characters, nearly a quarter of the total, are of this type, though 300 of them have not yet been deciphered.
Though the pictographic origins of these characters are apparent, they have already undergone extensive simplification and conventionalization.
Evolved forms of most of these characters are still in common use today.
Next, words that could not be represented pictorially, such as abstract terms and grammatical particles, were signified by borrowing characters of pictorial origin representing similar-sounding words (the "rebus strategy"):
The word lì 'tremble' was originally written with the character 栗 for lì 'chestnut'.
The pronoun and modal particle qí was written with the character 其 originally representing jī 'winnowing basket'.
Sometimes the borrowed character would be modified slightly to distinguish it from the original, as with 毋 wú 'don't', a borrowing of 母 mǔ 'mother'.
Later, phonetic loans were systematically disambiguated by the addition of semantic indicators, usually to the less common word:
The word lì 'tremble' was later written with the character 慄, formed by adding the symbol ⺖, a variant of 心 xīn 'heart'.
The less common original word jī 'winnowing basket' came to be written with the compound 箕, obtained by adding the symbol 竹 zhú 'bamboo' to the character.
Such phono-semantic compound characters were already used extensively on the oracle bones, and the vast majority of characters created since then have been of this type.
In the Shuowen Jiezi, a dictionary compiled in the 2nd century, 82% of the 9,353 characters are classified as phono-semantic compounds.
In the light of the modern understanding of Old Chinese phonology, researchers now believe that most of the characters originally classified as semantic compounds also have a phonetic nature.
These developments were already present in the oracle bone script, possibly implying a significant period of development prior to the extant inscriptions.
This may have involved writing on perishable materials, as suggested by the appearance on oracle bones of the character 册 cè 'records'.
The character is thought to depict bamboo or wooden strips tied together with leather thongs, a writing material known from later archaeological finds.
Development and simplification of the script continued during the pre-Classical and Classical periods, with characters becoming less pictorial and more linear and regular, with rounded strokes being replaced by sharp angles.
The language developed compound words, so that characters came to represent morphemes, though almost all morphemes could be used as independent words.
Hundreds of morphemes of two or more syllables also entered the language, and were written with one phono-semantic compound character per syllable.
During the Warring States period, writing became more widespread, with further simplification and variation, particularly in the eastern states.
The most conservative script prevailed in the western state of Qin, which would later impose its standard on the whole of China.
Old Chinese