成功
せいこう · seikou · JLPT N3 · noun
success
🏆 成功 = become + merit: your effort turns into a result
成 means to become or complete, as in 完成 (completion). 功 means merit or meritorious deed, and is built from 工 (work) + 力 (strength). Work plus strength, carried through to the end, is success. Seikou: say-KOH!, the shout when it lands.
成 — 戊 (halberd/weapon) + 丁 (nail/man)
Originally a pictograph of a halberd or axe-like weapon, suggesting the act of completing a task by force. Over time it shifted from 'to subdue' to the broader meaning 'to accomplish' or 'to become'. The 丁 element inside also hints at the chéng sound.
功 — work 工 (phonetic) + strength 力 (semantic)
功 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The right side 力 (strength, a pictograph of a plow or flexed arm) gives the meaning, while 工 (work, originally a carpenter's square) supplies the sound. Together they convey effort applied to work — hence 'achievement, merit, accomplishment.'