原書
げんしょ · gensho · JLPT N1 · noun
document
📜 原 (origin) + 書 (book/document) = the original book or document
原 means source or origin, and 書 means writing or document. Together 原書 is the source text, the first version before any translation or copy.
原 — cliff 厂 + spring 泉 (white 白 + water 水)
Originally a pictograph showing a spring of water flowing out from beneath a cliff, depicting the source of a stream. From this concrete image of a water source, the meaning extended to 'origin,' 'source,' and 'original.' A separate character 源 was later created with the water radical 氵 to keep the literal 'spring' sense.