収入
しゅうにゅう · shuunyuu · JLPT N3 · noun
income
💰 収入 = collect (収) + enter (入): money collected that comes in
収 means to gather or take in, 入 means to enter. Income is literally what you collect coming in. Its opposite swaps one kanji: 支出 (shishutsu, expenses) = pay out + exit, so 入 in / 出 out marks the pair.
入 — single pictograph, two slanting strokes
入 is a pictograph showing an arrowhead or pointed entrance, with two strokes converging downward to suggest something going inward. The original sense was 'to enter,' and it still carries that meaning today. It contrasts visually with 人 (person), where the strokes cross differently at the top.