器官

きかん · kikan · JLPT N3 · noun

body

器官 — body

🫀 器官 = vessel + office: the body's working vessels, each with its own job

器 means vessel or tool, and 官 means an official post. An organ is a part of the body that holds an office and does its own task. The same 器 appears in 楽器 (gakki), musical instrument.

官 — roof 宀 + mound/many 㠯
Originally a pictograph showing a building (roof 宀) over stacked mounds or seats (㠯), depicting an official residence or government office. The meaning extended from the building itself to the officials who worked there, and then broadly to 'official' or 'government.'

More Japanese words · How Japanese works