座布団
ざぶとん · zabuton · JLPT N2 · noun
shock absorber
🛏️ 座 = seat, 布団 = futon: a seat-futon you sit on, sounds like 'za-buton' ~ 'sit-button'
座 (za) means seat or sit, and 布団 (futon) is a padded bedding. Together, a padded thing for sitting: zabuton, a floor cushion. Say 'za' like 'sit' and 'buton' like 'button' to link it.
座 — 广 (shelter) + 坐 (to sit)
Originally written as 坐, meaning 'to sit' (two people 人人 sitting on the ground 土). The shelter radical 广 was added to specify the place where one sits — a seat, throne, or platform. 坐 remained the verb 'to sit,' while 座 became the noun 'seat.'
布 — hand 手 (as 𠂇) + cloth 巾
Originally a pictograph of woven cloth held in a hand, combining a hand element (𠂇) with 巾 'cloth/towel'. The core meaning 'cloth' was extended to 'spread out, display' (as cloth is unfurled), giving modern senses like 'announce' and 'arrange'.