思想
しそう · shisou · JLPT N3 · noun
idea
💡 思想 = think (思) + idea/concept (想): thinking stacked on thinking
Both kanji mean to think: 思 as in 思う (omou), 想 as in 感想 (impressions). Doubled up, they name thought as a system: ideology, a body of ideas. Sound hook: shi-sou, as in she sows ideas.
想 — heart 心 + 相 (xiāng, phonetic)
想 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The heart radical 心 at the bottom carries the meaning, since classical Chinese located thought and feeling in the heart. The top component 相 (xiāng) supplies the sound, and over time the character settled into the senses 'to think,' 'to want,' and 'to miss.'