丁度
ちょうど · choudo · JLPT N5 · adverb
exactly
🎯 Sounds like CHOSE + DOugh: you chose exactly the right amount
ちょうど marks a perfect fit: ちょうど三時 is exactly three o'clock, ちょうどいい is just right. The kanji 丁度 are ateji, picked for sound rather than meaning, so lean on the sound hook: chose-dough, exactly what was needed.
丁 — single stroke pictograph, originally a nail
丁 is a pictograph of a nail viewed from above or the side, showing the head and shaft. Its original meaning was 'nail,' later extended to 'sturdy adult male,' then to general senses like 'individual person' or 'fourth' in ordinal lists. The 'nail' meaning is now written 釘.
度 — 广 (shelter) + 庶 abbreviated (phonetic)
Originally depicted a hand measuring length under a shelter, meaning 'to measure' or 'a measure/standard.' From this came extended senses like 'degree,' 'extent,' and 'to pass through' (as in passing time). The reading 'dù' means degree/measure, while 'duó' preserves the older verbal sense of measuring.