夕方
ゆうがた · yuugata · JLPT N5 · noun
afternoon
🌇 夕方 = evening (夕) + direction/side (方): the evening side of the day
夕 is the kanji for evening, read ゆう. 方 means side or direction, and its reading かた voices to がた in the compound. Together: the part of the day leaning toward evening, roughly late afternoon until dinner.
方 — pictograph of a plow or two boats joined side by side
方 originated as a pictograph, traditionally interpreted as a plow handle or two boats lashed together. From the idea of paired boats it extended to mean 'side by side,' then 'square,' 'direction,' and 'region.' It was later borrowed for the abstract sense of 'method' or 'way.'