沙 (Shā)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 少 represents the sound.

Shuowen Jiezi

《說文》：“沙，水石也。从水，从少，水少沙見。楚東有沙水。譚長說，沙，或从尐。”

Components

• 氵 (meaning) — 氵 is a component form of 水.
• 少 (sound, iconic) — 少 depicts four small grains of sand.