窄
zhǎi · HSK 7
narrow
🚪 窄 = 穴 (cave) over 乍 — a cave mouth pinched suddenly tight, so narrow
zhǎi means narrow, also narrow-minded or badly off. The 穴 roof is the cave radical and 乍 (zhà) hints at the sound; a cramped cave opening barely lets you through.
窄 — cave radical 穴 + measure 乍
窄 combines 穴 (cave/hole) as the semantic component with 乍 as the phonetic, suggesting a tight, narrow opening like a cramped cave. The original sense of a confined space extended naturally to mean 'narrow' or 'tight' in both physical and figurative uses.