选手
xuǎnshǒu · HSK 3
athlete
🏆 选手 = select + hand; the chosen 'hand' (player) picked for the team
选 means choose/select, 手 literally means hand but extends to a person skilled with their hands — a worker or player. Together: a selected player, i.e. a contestant or athlete chosen to compete.
选 — 辶 walk + 巽 (xùn, phonetic)
选 combines the walking radical 辶 with 巽, which suggests the sound. The original sense relates to going through or passing by, extended to 'picking out' or 'choosing' from a group. The simplified form replaces the older 選.
手 — pictograph of a hand with five fingers
手 is a pictograph showing an open hand with fingers and a wrist. Early bronze and oracle bone forms clearly depict five splayed fingers, which simplified over time into the modern shape. It keeps its original meaning of 'hand' and also serves as a radical in many characters related to hand actions.