お辞儀
おじぎ · ojigi · JLPT N3 · noun
bow
🙇 お辞儀 = polite お + 辞 words + 儀 ceremony: a greeting done without words
辞儀 first meant courteous words and greeting etiquette, and later came to mean the bow that goes with them. Sound hook: oh-GEE-gi, as in a startled oh gee! as you bend at the waist.
辞 — 舌 (tongue) + 辛 (bitter/blade)
Originally written 辭, depicting hands sorting tangled threads beside 辛 (a knife or judgment), meaning to settle disputes with words. The modern simplified form replaces the left side with 舌 (tongue), reinforcing the speech sense. Meanings extended from 'legal statement' to 'words, phrases, to take leave.'