お大事に
おだいじに · odaijini · JLPT N2 · expression
Get well soon
🩹 お (polite prefix) + 大事 (important, precious) = your precious self: take care of yourself
大事 means important or precious, and お is a polite prefix. Said to someone who is ill, it means: treat yourself as something important and precious.
大 — pictograph of a person with arms outstretched
大 is a pictograph showing a person standing with arms and legs spread wide. The outstretched arms suggest 'big' or 'great', extending from the literal image of a large stance to abstract meanings like important or grand. It is one of the oldest characters, found on oracle bones.
事 — hand 又 holding a banner/tablet on a pole
Originally a pictograph of a hand (又) grasping a pole or ceremonial banner used by an official, depicting the act of conducting court business. From this it came to mean 'affair, matter, business, service.' It shares an ancient origin with 史 (scribe) and 吏 (official).