事件
じけん · jiken · JLPT N3 · noun
event
📰 事件 = matter (事) + case/item (件): a matter that became a case
事 (ji) means matter or affair; 件 (ken) is the counter for cases and items. Together: one countable occurrence, an incident. The ji-ken sound also turns up in news and crime reports, where 事件 is the standard word for a case.
事 — hand 又 holding a banner/tablet on a pole
Originally a pictograph of a hand (又) grasping a pole or ceremonial banner used by an official, depicting the act of conducting court business. From this it came to mean 'affair, matter, business, service.' It shares an ancient origin with 史 (scribe) and 吏 (official).
件 — person radical 亻 + ox 牛
件 combines the person radical 亻 with 牛 (ox). Originally it referred to dividing or counting items, with oxen being valuable units of property to count. It came to mean a measurable item or matter, and today serves as a measure word for things, documents, and affairs.