句
く · ku · JLPT N3 · noun
phrase
📜 The ku in haiku (俳句): a haiku is a short verse made of phrases
句 = 勹 (wrapping) + 口 (mouth): words the mouth wraps up into one unit. It shows up in 俳句 haiku, short verse, and in 文句 monku, complaint, literally phrases with a grumble in them.
句 — 勹 (wrap) + 口 (mouth/enclosure)
Originally a pictograph showing a hook or curve enclosing something, depicting a bend or turn. The form combines 勹 (wrap) around 口, suggesting words bound together. It later came to mean a complete sentence or phrase, the basic unit of bounded speech.