廊下

ろうか · rouka · JLPT N5 · noun

corridor

🚪 廊下 = covered walkway (廊) + below (下): the passage under the eaves

廊 is a roofed walkway or gallery, 下 means under. Together they name the passage running beneath the roof alongside the rooms — a corridor. Sound hook: rouka starts like row — a row of doors along the hall.

下 — horizontal line 一 + mark below
下 is an indicative character: a long horizontal line represents a reference level, and a shorter stroke placed beneath it points to the area below. The original meaning 'below, down' comes directly from this spatial diagram, and it later extended to verbs like 'descend' and 'lower'.

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