会社
かいしゃ · kaisha · JLPT N5 · noun
company
🏢 会社 = meet + shrine/society: a society where people meet
会 (kai) means to meet or gather; 社 (sha) began as a shrine and came to mean a society or association. Flip the two and you get 社会 (shakai), society. A company is a gathering-association.
会 — 人 person on top + 云 cloud/say below (simplified from 會)
The traditional form 會 showed a lid over a vessel with contents stacked inside, depicting things coming together — hence 'meet, gather, assemble.' From 'gathering' it extended to 'meeting,' then 'understand' (minds meeting) and 'be able to.' The simplified 会 keeps only a schematic top and bottom.
社 — 示 (altar/spirit) + 土 (earth)
Originally referred to the god of the soil and the altar where villagers worshipped it. The 示 component signals ritual or spirits, while 土 means earth, together evoking a community shrine. The meaning later broadened to 'community' and 'society'.