脱离
tuōlí · HSK 5
to separate oneself from; to break away from
🚪 脱离 = shed/take off (脱) + leave (离) — to break away from
脱 means to shed or remove (like clothing), and 离 means to depart or separate. Together they describe severing a connection or breaking free from something — a group, a situation, or danger.
脱 — flesh radical 月 (肉) + 兑 tuì (phonetic)
脱 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The flesh radical 月 (from 肉) signals the body, while 兑 supplies the sound. Originally it meant shedding flesh or skin, like a snake molting, and broadened to mean 'to take off, slip off, or escape.'
离 — top 亠 + 凶 + 禸 (animal track)
Originally depicted a long-tailed bird caught in a net, from which the early sense 'oriole' arose. The character was later borrowed phonetically for the unrelated verb meaning 'to leave' or 'be apart from,' which became its dominant modern usage. The original bird sense faded out of everyday use.