切手
きって · kitte · JLPT N5 · noun
postage
✉️ 切手 = cut (切) + hand (手): a small cut slip you hand over as proof of payment
Short for 切符手形 (kippu tegata): 切符 is a ticket, 手形 a payment note. A stamp is a ticket-sized receipt showing postage was paid. Sound hook: kitte starts like kit, the little paid-for piece in your letter-sending kit.
切 — 七 (phonetic) + 刀 (knife radical)
切 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 刀 'knife' gives the meaning of cutting, while 七 supplies the sound. The original sense was to slice or cut with a blade. From there it extended figuratively to 'close to' (as in pressed against) and 'urgent/earnest', as in 切实.
手 — pictograph of a hand with five fingers
手 is a pictograph showing an open hand with fingers and a wrist. Early bronze and oracle bone forms clearly depict five splayed fingers, which simplified over time into the modern shape. It keeps its original meaning of 'hand' and also serves as a radical in many characters related to hand actions.