安定
あんてい · antei · JLPT N3 · noun
stability
⚖️ 安定 = calm (安) + fixed in place (定): settled and steady
安 means peace or safety, as in 安心 (peace of mind). 定 means to fix or decide, as in 予定 (a fixed plan). Put them together and you get something calm that stays put: stability. Sound hook: an-TEI, like a table that stays steady.
安 — roof 宀 + woman 女
A pictographic compound showing a woman 女 under a roof 宀, suggesting safety and tranquility at home. The original meaning 'peaceful, calm, safe' has remained stable since oracle bone script. It later extended to verbs like 'to settle' or 'to install'.
定 — roof 宀 + 正 (correct/upright, phonetic)
Originally written with 宀 (roof) over 正 (upright/correct), suggesting a household settled and orderly under its roof. Over time 正 simplified to 㐬-like form at the bottom, and the meaning shifted from 'settled home' to the broader senses of 'fix, stable, decide.'