思い出
おもいで · omoide · JLPT N3 · noun
memories
📸 思い出 = thought (思い) + come out (出): thoughts that come back out
思い comes from 思う (omou, to think or feel), and 出 is the de of 出る (deru, to come out). A memory is a thought that comes back out. Sound hook: omoide sounds like oh, my day! — what you say when a good one comes back.
出 — foot 止 emerging from enclosure 凵
出 is a pictograph showing a foot or plant stepping out of a hollow or enclosure, depicting the act of going forth. The original sense of 'coming out' or 'emerging' has remained stable since oracle bone script. It now broadly means 'to exit, go out, or produce.'