写生
しゃせい · shasei · JLPT N2 · noun
drawing from nature
✏️🌿 写 = copy + 生 = life: copying life as it stands in front of you, i.e. drawing from nature
写 means copy or write, and 生 means life or living. Together they describe copying living things directly from what is in front of you, which is sketching from nature.
写 — 宀 roof + 与 (phonetic, simplified from 寫)
Originally 寫 depicted placing something under a roof (宀), extended to mean 'to set down' and then 'to write/copy'. The simplified form 写 keeps the roof but replaces the complex inner element with 与, which also hints at the sound. Today it broadly means 'to write' or 'to depict'.
生 — sprout 屮 above earth 土
Originally a pictograph showing a young plant sprouting from the ground, with 屮 (a sprout) above 土 (earth). The core meaning is 'to be born, to grow, to live,' which extends to 'raw, unripe, unfamiliar.' The modern form has simplified the sprout shape but preserves the image of new growth emerging from soil.