通俗
tōngsú · HSK 7
popular
📻 通 (common/through) + 俗 (custom) = what passes through everyone's customs: popular, accessible to all
通 carries the sense of common or general, and 俗 means custom or the ordinary folk. Together they label things made plain enough for everyone, hence pop and popular. Think mass-market radio rather than highbrow art.
通 — 辵 (辶) walk + 甬 yǒng (phonetic)
通 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 辶 (chuò) component means 'walk' or 'movement', giving the meaning of going through or passing. 甬 (yǒng), originally depicting a hanging bell or a path, supplies the sound. Together they convey 'to pass through, communicate, connect'.
俗 — person radical 亻 + valley 谷
A semantic-phonetic compound: 亻 (person) gives the meaning and 谷 (gǔ/valley) suggests the sound. Originally referred to the customs and habits of common people living in the valleys, later extending to mean 'common,' 'vulgar,' or 'secular' as opposed to refined or religious.