路面
lù miàn · HSK 7
road surface
🛣️ 路面 = 路 road + 面 surface = the road's surface, i.e. pavement
路 (lù) is road; 面 (miàn) is surface or face (same 面 as in noodles/flour). Put road + surface together and you get the paved surface of a road: the pavement.
路 — foot 足 + each 各 (phonetic)
路 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The foot radical 足 on the left signals meaning related to walking or travel, while 各 on the right hints at the ancient pronunciation. Originally referring to a road traveled on foot, it broadened to mean 'road, path, route' in general.
面 — enclosure 囗 + 自 (nose/face inside)
Originally a pictograph showing a face framed by an outline, with 自 (nose) inside representing the central feature of the face. The early meaning was 'face,' which extended to 'surface,' 'side,' and 'aspect.' In simplified Chinese, 面 also absorbed 麵, adding the meaning 'flour/noodles.'