卡通
kǎtōng · HSK 7
cartoon
📺 卡 (kǎ) sounds like the start of cartoon; 卡通 kǎtōng = car-toon
卡 kǎ also means card/stuck, but here 卡通 is a sound-loan: kǎtōng was borrowed to echo the English word cartoon. 通 tōng on its own means through or to connect.
卡 — 上 (up) + 下 (down)
卡 is a modern compound formed by stacking 上 'up' on 下 'down', visually depicting something stuck between two positions — neither up nor down. From this 'wedged' image come its core meanings: to block, to get stuck, and a checkpoint or card. The reading kǎ also transcribes foreign words like 'card', while qiǎ keeps the older 'pinch/stuck' sense.
通 — 辵 (辶) walk + 甬 yǒng (phonetic)
通 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 辶 (chuò) component means 'walk' or 'movement', giving the meaning of going through or passing. 甬 (yǒng), originally depicting a hanging bell or a path, supplies the sound. Together they convey 'to pass through, communicate, connect'.