拖鞋
tuō xié · HSK 6
slipper
🩴 tuo xie = drag + shoes — shoes you drag your feet in
拖 (tuō) means to drag or pull, 鞋 (xié) means shoes. Slippers are literally drag-shoes — the kind you shuffle around in without lifting your feet. The name perfectly describes how you wear them.
拖 — hand radical 扌 + 它 (tā, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 carries the meaning, indicating an action done with the hand—pulling or dragging. The right side 它 (originally depicting a snake) supplies the sound. Together 拖 came to mean 'to drag, pull, or haul.'
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.