才能
さいのう · sainou · JLPT N3 · noun
endowment
🎹 才能 = gift (才, as in 天才 genius) + capacity (能, as in 能力 ability)
才 is the inborn gift in 天才 (tensai, genius); 能 is the capacity in 能力 (nouryoku, ability) and 可能 (kanou, possible). A natural gift plus the power to use it gives sainou: talent.
才 — single component 才 (one stroke 一 + 亅 + 丿)
才 originally pictured a sprout breaking through the ground, symbolizing budding talent or potential. Over time it came to mean 'talent, ability' and also 'just now,' since a sprout marks a fresh beginning. It is itself a basic component used in characters like 材 and 财.
能 — 厶 (head) + 月 (body/flesh) + 匕匕 (legs)
Originally a pictograph of a bear, showing its head, body, and powerful legs. Because bears were seen as strong and capable, the character was borrowed to mean 'ability' or 'can'. A new character 熊 (with the fire radical 灬) was later created for 'bear'.