所々
ところどころ · tokorodokoro · JLPT N2 · adverb
here and there
📍 所 (place) + 々 (repeat mark) = places repeated, so here and there in several spots
The mark 々 means the preceding kanji repeats, so 所々 is place, place again: scattered spots across an area. It is often used for stains, damage, or patches that appear in several places.
所 — door 戶 (left) + axe 斤 (right)
Originally a sound: an axe (斤) chopping wood near a door (戶), with 戶 also hinting at the pronunciation. Over time it was borrowed to mean 'place' or 'location,' and later became a grammatical particle nominalizing verbs ('that which…'). The concrete 'chopping' sense faded entirely.