待ち合わせる
まちあわせる · machiawaseru · JLPT N2 · verb-ichidan
to meet at a prearranged place and time
🕐 待 (wait) + ち合う (meet up) + せる: to make meeting up happen, i.e. to wait for each other at a set time and place.
Machi (待ち) means waiting and au (合う) means to meet or match, so machiawaseru literally means to make waiting meet up. Two people wait until they meet.
待 — chì 彳 (step) + 寺 sì (temple/phonetic)
待 combines the 'step' radical 彳, suggesting movement or a path, with 寺, which serves as the phonetic component. Originally it conveyed the idea of stopping along a road, which extended to 'waiting.' Over time it also took on related meanings like 'to treat' or 'to deal with' someone.
合 — 乛 (lid/roof) + 口 (mouth)
Originally a pictograph of a lidded vessel — a cover (亼) closing over an opening (口) — giving the core sense of 'come together, join, fit.' From 'fit/match' it extended to 'combine, unite, agree' and to measure-word uses. The reading hé reflects this 'joining' meaning.