合併
がっぺい · gappei · JLPT N1 · noun
merger
🧩 合 = join + 併 = side by side: two things joined into one
合 means join or fit together, and 併 means alongside or unite. Together they describe companies or parts merging into a single whole.
合 — 乛 (lid/roof) + 口 (mouth)
Originally a pictograph of a lidded vessel — a cover (亼) closing over an opening (口) — giving the core sense of 'come together, join, fit.' From 'fit/match' it extended to 'combine, unite, agree' and to measure-word uses. The reading hé reflects this 'joining' meaning.