筛
shāi · HSK 7
sieve
bamboo radical 竹 + 师 (shī, phonetic) = a bamboo sieve that sifts and filters
Traditional sieves were woven from bamboo, so the 竹 top marks the material while 师 supplies the shāi sound. Sift the keeper grains, filter out the rest.
筛 — bamboo radical 竹 + 师 (shī, phonetic)
筛 is a phono-semantic compound. The bamboo radical 竹 on top signals the meaning, since traditional sieves were woven from thin bamboo strips. The lower component 师 (shī) supplies the sound, giving the modern reading shāi. The character means 'sieve' or 'to sift'.