隔
gé · HSK 4
separate
🚧 阝(wall) + 鬲 (cauldron) — a wall cuts off, separates
The 阝radical on the left means wall or mound; 鬲 is an ancient cauldron used here for sound. Together they convey something walled off or separated. Modern uses: 隔离 quarantine, 隔壁 next door (the wall between).
隔 — 阜 (mound 阝) + 鬲 (cauldron, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The left element 阝 (mound/hill) suggests a barrier or separation, while 鬲 (an ancient three-legged cauldron) supplies the sound. The original sense of being blocked off by terrain extended to today's meanings of 'separate,' 'partition,' or 'at an interval.'