短い
みじかい · mijikai · JLPT N5 · i-adj
short (length)
✂️ sounds like: me, G.I. cut — a soldier's hair is always short
mi-ji-kai breaks into me + G.I. + kai. A G.I. haircut is the classic short cut, so me-G.I.-kai = short. The kanji 短 also appears in 短所 (weak point, literally a short place), and its opposite is 長い (nagai, long).
短 — arrow 矢 + bean/vessel 豆
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 矢 (arrow) gives the meaning, since arrows were used as a short measuring stick, while 豆 (an ancient stemmed vessel) supplied the sound. From 'short in length' the meaning broadened to 'short' in time, stature, or quality.