判断
はんだん · handan · JLPT N3 · noun
judgment
⚖️ 判断 = judge + cut off: weigh it, then cut the matter clean
判 is 半 (half) + 刂 (knife): split something in two to judge it. 断 is cutting off with an axe 斤, as in 断る (refuse). Judging means splitting a question open, then cutting off the debate. Sounds like handed down: a judgment handed down.
判 — half 半 (phonetic) + knife 刂 (semantic)
判 combines 半 'half' with 刂 'knife', literally suggesting cutting something in two. The knife radical gives the meaning of dividing or judging, while 半 provides the sound. From 'splitting apart' it extended to 'discriminate, judge, decide'.
断 — thread 㡭 (silk bundle) + axe 斤
Originally written with 㡭 (entangled silk threads) on the left and 斤 (axe) on the right, depicting an axe cutting through bundled threads. From this concrete image of severing came the meanings 'to cut off,' 'to break,' and by extension 'to decide' or 'judge'—as in resolving a matter decisively.