将棋
しょうぎ · shougi · JLPT N2 · noun
japanese brome
♟️ Shougi = 'show-gee': 'show' + 'gee', sounds like 'shogun' playing a board game on a grid of squares
将 — 爿 (bed/plank) + 寸 (hand) + 月 (meat)
Originally depicted a hand (寸) holding meat (月) beside a table or altar (爿), suggesting offering meat at a ceremony — hence a leader or general who presides. The meaning extended to 'commander' and, as a function word, 'about to' or 'will'. The simplified form 将 streamlines 爿 into 丬.
棋 — wood 木 + its 其 (phonetic)
棋 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The wood radical 木 indicates the material, since traditional board game pieces were carved from wood, while 其 (qí) supplies the sound. It originally referred to chess or weiqi pieces and now means chess or board games generally.