不安
ふあん · fuan · JLPT N3 · noun
anxiety
不安 = 不 not + 安 at ease: literally not-at-ease, so uneasy or anxious
不 (fu) negates what follows, and 安 (an) means calm or safe, as in 安心 anshin, peace of mind, and 安全 anzen, safety. Put a no in front of calm and you get 不安, anxiety. Its opposite is 安心.
不 — single pictograph; bird flying upward
Originally a pictograph in oracle bone script, traditionally interpreted as a bird flying up toward the sky and unable to come down, suggesting negation or refusal. Over time it became the standard negation word in Chinese, used before verbs and adjectives to mean 'not'.
安 — roof 宀 + woman 女
A pictographic compound showing a woman 女 under a roof 宀, suggesting safety and tranquility at home. The original meaning 'peaceful, calm, safe' has remained stable since oracle bone script. It later extended to verbs like 'to settle' or 'to install'.