全集
ぜんしゅう · zenshuu · JLPT N2 · noun
plant
📚 全集 = 全 (all, whole) + 集 (collect): all the works collected into one set
全 means all or whole, and 集 means gather or collection. Joined, they name the set that holds every work by one author. Say zenshuu as one word, blending 'zen' and 'shoe'.
全 — enter 入 on top + jade 玉
Originally written as 入 (enter) over 玉 (jade), depicting a complete, unflawed piece of jade kept in storage. From this image of a perfect jade came the meanings 'whole,' 'complete,' and 'entire.' The top component is sometimes written as 人.
集 — bird 隹 on top of tree 木
集 is an ideograph showing a bird (隹) perched on a tree (木). The original form depicted three birds gathering on a tree, later simplified to one. From 'birds flocking together' it extended to mean 'gather, collect, assemble,' and by extension 'collection' or 'volume' of writings.