草履
ぞうり · zouri · JLPT N2 · noun
sandal
🩴 草 (grass) + 履 (footwear): sandals originally woven from grass or straw
The first kanji 草 means grass, and 履 means footwear, which reflects the old straw-woven style. The reading ぞうり (zouri) is irregular, so learn it as one unit.
草 — grass radical 艹 + 早 (zǎo, phonetic)
草 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The top 艹 (grass radical, derived from 艸) gives the meaning 'grass' or 'plant', while 早 underneath supplies the sound. Originally 草 referred to a specific plant and acorn-like fruit, but it shifted to mean grass and vegetation broadly, and by extension 'rough' or 'draft'.