袜子
wà zi · HSK 4
socks
🧦 袜 = clothing radical 衤 + 末 (mò, end) — cloth for your feet at the end of your legs
袜 combines 衤 (clothing) with 末 (end/tip), pointing to a garment worn at the extremities. 子 is a common noun suffix, so 袜子 literally reads as end-of-the-leg cloth-thing.
子 — pictograph of a baby/child with arms out
子 began as a pictograph of a swaddled infant with a large head and outstretched arms, originally meaning 'baby' or 'child.' From there it broadened to 'son,' 'offspring,' and a respectful suffix for masters like 孔子 (Confucius). It also became one of the twelve earthly branches.