大切
たいせつ · taisetsu · JLPT N5 · na-adj
important
💎 大切 = big + cut: what cuts deep into you is what matters most
大 (tai) means big and 切 (setsu) means cut, also read as pressing or urgent. Something greatly pressing is important and precious. 切 carries the same keenly felt sense in 親切 (kind) and 切ない (heart-rending).
大 — pictograph of a person with arms outstretched
大 is a pictograph showing a person standing with arms and legs spread wide. The outstretched arms suggest 'big' or 'great', extending from the literal image of a large stance to abstract meanings like important or grand. It is one of the oldest characters, found on oracle bones.
切 — 七 (phonetic) + 刀 (knife radical)
切 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 刀 'knife' gives the meaning of cutting, while 七 supplies the sound. The original sense was to slice or cut with a blade. From there it extended figuratively to 'close to' (as in pressed against) and 'urgent/earnest', as in 切实.