风筝
fēng zhēng · HSK 7
kite
🪁 风 (wind) + 筝 (zheng, a stringed instrument) = wind-zither
风 means wind; 筝 is a zheng, an ancient stringed instrument. Early kites had bamboo whistles that hummed in the wind like a zheng, so the compound literally names a wind-instrument that flies.
风 — 几 (table) + 虫 (insect)
Originally written 鳳 (phoenix), later simplified. The traditional form 風 contains 虫 (insect), reflecting an old belief that wind brought insects or that creatures stirred with the wind. The modern simplified 风 keeps 几 as an outer frame around 㐅.