お菓子
おかし · okashi · JLPT N5 · noun
sweet
🍬🍡 お菓子 = polite o + 菓 (confection) + 子 (little thing); o-KAH-shee
菓 is 果 (fruit) with a grass radical on top: sweets were originally fruits and nuts. 子 marks a small thing, and the honorific お is nearly always attached. Sound hook: Oh, cash-y! — what you say handing over coins for candy.
子 — pictograph of a baby/child with arms out
子 began as a pictograph of a swaddled infant with a large head and outstretched arms, originally meaning 'baby' or 'child.' From there it broadened to 'son,' 'offspring,' and a respectful suffix for masters like 孔子 (Confucius). It also became one of the twelve earthly branches.