口実
こうじつ · koujitsu · JLPT N2 · noun
excuse
🙊 口 (mouth) + 実 (truth): words from the mouth, not the real truth
口 means mouth and 実 means truth or fruit. A 口実 is what comes out of your mouth in place of the real reason, so it is an excuse.
口 — pictograph of an open mouth
口 is one of the oldest pictographs in Chinese, originally drawn as a simple outline of an open mouth. Its core meaning 'mouth' extended naturally to 'opening' or 'entrance', as in 入口 (entrance). It also serves as a common radical in characters related to speech, eating, or apertures.