件
けん · ken · JLPT N3 · noun
matter
📁 件 = person 亻 + cow 牛: a herder counts cattle one by one → item, case
Herders counted their livestock one by one, so 件 came to mean a separate item. It is also a counter for matters and incidents: 一件 (いっけん) means one matter or one case. Hook: Ken keeps the case file on every item.
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.