杯子
bēizi · HSK 1
cup
🥛 杯 = wood radical + 不 (bù) sound hint; 子 is a noun suffix
杯 originally meant a wooden drinking vessel — the 木 radical marks material, 不 gives the phonetic. 子 is the common noun-forming suffix seen in 桌子 (table) and 椅子 (chair), so 杯子 reads literally as cup-thing.
杯 — wood radical 木 + 不 (phonetic)
杯 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 木 radical signals wood, since ancient cups were carved from wood, while 不 hints at the sound. Originally written 桮, it came to mean any cup or glass regardless of material.
子 — pictograph of a baby/child with arms out
子 began as a pictograph of a swaddled infant with a large head and outstretched arms, originally meaning 'baby' or 'child.' From there it broadened to 'son,' 'offspring,' and a respectful suffix for masters like 孔子 (Confucius). It also became one of the twelve earthly branches.