冬

Bottom two-stroke ice radical — the contracted form of 冫 (and ultimately of 冰 ice). Two dots picturing frozen droplets. Indexes 冬 firmly in the cold family: 冰 (ice), 冷 (cold), 凉 (cool), 冻 (freeze), 凝 (congeal). The radical tells the reader: this season is about cold. Combined with the closing-foot above, the whole character pictures 'year-end with ice underfoot' = winter.

Top 夂 — a foot/leg radical (Kangxi #34) showing motion from behind. In the oldest forms of 冬 the whole character was a knotted cord with end-tassels, marking 'the end' of the seasonal cycle. The modern reanalysis of the top as 夂 is structural rather than etymological — but it conveniently pictures the year drawing to its close.