下書き
したがき · shitagaki · JLPT N2 · noun
transcript
📝 下 (under) + 書き (writing): a rough copy written before the final version
下 means under or beneath, as in 下に. A 下書き is the writing that sits underneath the finished text, the first pass before it is polished.
下 — horizontal line 一 + mark below
下 is an indicative character: a long horizontal line represents a reference level, and a shorter stroke placed beneath it points to the area below. The original meaning 'below, down' comes directly from this spatial diagram, and it later extended to verbs like 'descend' and 'lower'.