合格
ごうかく · goukaku · JLPT N3 · noun
passing
🎓 合格 = fit + standard: your score fits the required grade, so you pass
合 means to fit or match, as in 合う (to suit). 格 means rank or standard, as in 資格 (qualification) and 価格 (price). To pass is to match the standard. Universities post 合格 next to the numbers of admitted applicants.
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.
格 — wood 木 + 各 (each, phonetic)
格 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 木 (wood) gives the meaning, originally referring to a wooden frame, lattice, or crossbar, while 各 supplies the sound. From 'frame/grid' the meaning extended to 'pattern, standard, style' and the modern senses of 'square (in a grid)' and 'character/disposition'.