墙
qiáng · HSK 2
wall
🧱 墙 = 土 (earth) + 啬 (stingy/miserly) — earthen barrier
The 土 radical on the left signals 'earth/dirt', the building material of ancient walls. 啬 on the right gives the sound (sè/qiáng-ish) and historically meant 'to hoard' — fitting for something that keeps things in or out.
墙 — earth radical 土 + 啬 (qiáng/sè) phonetic
墙 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The earth radical 土 signals the meaning, since ancient walls were built from packed earth or mud bricks. The right side 啬 supplies the sound, originally depicting a granary, hinting at enclosing and storing. Together they form 'wall'.