微

Left indexing step radical, a small footstep. Originally 微 meant 'to walk stealthily, move in tiny steps,' from which came 'tiny, slight, subtle.' The radical anchors 微 in the family of motion / path characters alongside 行 (walk), 往 (go toward), and 待 (wait).

Upper-middle 山, a pictograph of a mountain. In 微 it sits in the middle stack, depicting something hidden behind a mountain. Combined with 兀 below, the picture is a figure tucked away in the mountainous distance, fitting the 'small, hidden, subtle' core.

Lower-middle 兀, a person standing tall, here drawn with the head sliced flat. Below the mountain it gives 'a bare figure beyond the peak,' the original hidden-traveler scene that gave 微 its 'faint / subtle' meaning. Pure semantic role; supplies no sound.

Right 攵 (the rap radical, abbreviated 攴), a hand holding a stick, signifying active intervention. Closes the right side of 微 with the sense of doing something quietly: tapping or moving with a light touch. Together the four pieces give the 'walking faintly past hidden ground' picture behind 'subtle'.