変更
へんこう · henkou · JLPT N3 · noun
change
変更 = change (変) + renew (更): you change something and make it new
変 (hen) means change or strange, as in 変 = weird. 更 (kou) means anew or further, as in 更新 kōshin, update or renew. Together they mean changing a plan or setting. A pun to remember the sound: a hen that changes her coat, hen-kou.
更 — 丙 (bǐng) phonetic + 攴/攵 (action/strike)
Originally an oracle-bone graph showing a hand striking a watch-drum to mark night watches, hence 'to change shifts.' From this came the meanings 'to change' and 'to replace' (gēng). The reading gèng later developed the sense 'further, even more,' as in 'one watch further on.'