取り消す
とりけす · torikesu · JLPT N2 · verb-godan
to cancel
❌ Tori (take) + kesu (erase): take back what was written, erase it, cancel
取り消す combines 取る (to take) and 消す (to erase, extinguish). Taking something back and erasing it makes it void, which is the sense of cancel.
取 — ear 耳 + hand 又
取 originally depicted a hand (又) grasping an ear (耳), referencing the ancient practice of soldiers cutting off enemies' left ears as proof of kills to claim rewards. The meaning broadened from 'seize/take by force' to the general sense of 'take, get, obtain' used today.
消 — water 氵 + 肖 (phonetic)
消 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the water radical 氵 indicates the meaning, while 肖 (xiào) supplies the sound. It originally described water dwindling or melting away, and from there extended to the modern senses of vanishing, dissolving, and dispelling.