电梯
diàntī · HSK 4
elevator
🛗 电梯 = electric (电) + ladder (梯)
电 means electricity and 梯 means ladder or stairs, so an elevator is literally an electric ladder. The same 梯 shows up in 楼梯 (stairs) and 滑梯 (slide).
电 — rain 雨 + lightning tail 电
Originally a pictograph of lightning streaking from a cloud, written 電 with the rain radical 雨 on top. The bottom 电 depicts the zigzag flash itself. The simplified form 电 drops 雨 and keeps just the lightning shape. Meaning extended from 'lightning' to 'electricity' in modern usage.