通路
つうろ · tsuuro · JLPT N2 · noun
passage
🛤️ 通 (pass through) + 路 (road) = a road you pass through: a passage
通 means pass through or go through, and 路 means road. A 通路 is a route you travel through, such as a hallway between rooms.
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'.
路 — foot 足 + each 各 (phonetic)
路 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The foot radical 足 on the left signals meaning related to walking or travel, while 各 on the right hints at the ancient pronunciation. Originally referring to a road traveled on foot, it broadened to mean 'road, path, route' in general.