交渉
こうしょう · koushou · JLPT N1 · noun
negotiation
🤝 交 = exchange, 渉 = wade across: trading offers back and forth to reach a deal
交 appears in 交換 (exchange). 渉 appears in 干渉 (interference), a wading-in. Both point to back-and-forth dealing between parties.
交 — top 亠 + 父-like crossed legs
Originally a pictograph of a person standing with legs crossed, showing the idea of crossing or intersecting. From this concrete image, the meaning extended to abstract senses like 'exchange,' 'interact,' and 'hand over.' Modern uses such as 交流 (exchange) and 交通 (traffic) all trace back to this core notion of crossing.