変化
へんか · henka · JLPT N3 · noun
change
🐛🦋 変 alter + 化 transform (as in 化学 chemistry) = change
Both kanji mean change. 変 also means odd, as in 変な (weird): something that has drifted from normal. 化 is the -ize of Japanese, as in 文化 culture and 化学 chemistry. Alter plus transform gives a change or shift.
化 — person 亻 + spoon/upside-down person 匕
化 is an associative compound showing a standing person 亻 next to 匕, originally a depiction of a person turned upside-down. Together they suggest a figure transforming from one state to another, giving the core meaning 'change' or 'transform'. The character later extended to senses like 'convert', 'influence', and the noun suffix '-ization'.