斜
xié · HSK 5
inclined
📐 斜 = 余 (yú, surplus) + 斗 (dou, dipper) — a dipper tilted off-level
Phonetic 余 gives the xié sound; 斗 (a ladle/dipper) hints at the meaning since a tilted dipper spills. So 斜 = leaning, oblique, slanted — anything off the vertical or horizontal axis.
斜 — dipper 斗 + give 余 (phonetic)
斜 is a phonosemantic compound. The right side 斗 (a ladle or dipper) gives the meaning, since pouring from a dipper tilts it sideways. The left side 余 supplies the sound. From 'tilted ladle' the meaning broadened to 'slanting, oblique, askew.'