通う
かよう · kayou · JLPT N4 · verb-godan
to commute
🚆 kayou sounds like kayak: paddle there and back every day
通 means pass through, the same kanji as in 通る (tooru, to pass). 通う is passing through the same route again and again: school, work, the gym. Sound hook: you kayak (kayou) the same river to work and home daily.
通 — 辵 (辶) walk + 甬 yǒng (phonetic)
通 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 辶 (chuò) component means 'walk' or 'movement', giving the meaning of going through or passing. 甬 (yǒng), originally depicting a hanging bell or a path, supplies the sound. Together they convey 'to pass through, communicate, connect'.