短裤
duǎn kù · HSK 3
shorts
🩳 短 (short) + 裤 (pants/trousers) = short pants = shorts
短 means short in length; 裤 is the general word for trousers/pants and appears in 裤子 (pants) and 内裤 (underwear). Stick 短 in front of any 裤 word to mean the short version.
短 — arrow 矢 + bean/vessel 豆
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 矢 (arrow) gives the meaning, since arrows were used as a short measuring stick, while 豆 (an ancient stemmed vessel) supplied the sound. From 'short in length' the meaning broadened to 'short' in time, stature, or quality.