小指
こゆび · koyubi · JLPT N2 · noun
little finger
🤙 Koyubi = 小 (small) + 指 (finger): the small finger, the pinky.
小 means small and 指 means finger, so 小指 is literally 'small finger'. Pinky sounds like 'koyubi' when you say 'ko' for small, 'yubi' for finger.
小 — three small strokes around a central vertical
小 is a pictograph originally showing three tiny dots or specks, suggesting small particles or grains. Over time the dots became stylized strokes flanking a central line. The core meaning 'small' has stayed remarkably stable from oracle bone script to today.
指 — hand radical 扌 + 旨 (zhǐ, phonetic)
指 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 gives the meaning — something done with the hand, namely pointing with a finger. 旨 supplies the sound 'zhǐ'. From 'finger' it naturally extended to the verb 'to point' and figurative senses like 'to indicate' or 'to refer to'.