浮く
うく · uku · JLPT N2 · verb-godan
to float
🛟 uku sounds like uke: a wooden ukulele floats on water
The kanji 浮 is 氵 (water) + 孚, an old form showing a hand over a child: water holding something up. The related verb 浮かぶ (ukabu) also means to float, or to rise to the surface.
浮 — water radical 氵 + 孚 (phonetic, 'hatch/trust')
浮 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The water radical 氵 gives the meaning 'water,' while 孚 supplies the sound and originally depicted a bird hatching an egg. Together they convey something resting on water, hence 'to float.'