凉鞋
liáng xié · HSK 6
sandal
🩴 liáng xié = cool + shoe — a shoe that keeps you cool
凉 means cool or cold, 鞋 means shoe. A sandal is literally a cool-shoe — open-air footwear that lets the breeze through. The name tells you exactly what it does: keeps your feet cool.
凉 — ice radical 冫 + 京 (capital)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 冫 (ice) gives the meaning 'cool/cold,' while 京 supplies the sound. Originally written 涼 with the water radical 氵, suggesting cool water; the simplified form 凉 swaps in 冫 to emphasize coldness. The meaning extended from 'cool' to 'chilly' and figuratively 'desolate.'
鞋 — leather radical 革 + 圭 (phonetic)
鞋 is a phono-semantic compound. The leather radical 革 on the left signals the meaning, since shoes were traditionally made of leather or hide. The right side 圭 supplies the sound, giving the modern reading xié. The character has long meant 'shoe' in everyday use.