売り切れ
うりきれ · urikire · JLPT N2 · na-adj
sold-out
🏷️🈵 売り切れ = sell (売る uru) + cut off (切れる kireru): selling has run out
Two verbs joined: 売り (uri, selling) + 切れ (kire, cut off or run out). The selling has been cut off because nothing is left. Shops show it as 売り切れ or 完売 on empty shelves and ticket booths.
切 — 七 (phonetic) + 刀 (knife radical)
切 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 刀 'knife' gives the meaning of cutting, while 七 supplies the sound. The original sense was to slice or cut with a blade. From there it extended figuratively to 'close to' (as in pressed against) and 'urgent/earnest', as in 切实.