抽象
ちゅうしょう · chuushou · JLPT N2 · noun
abstraction
🎨 抽 = pull out + 象 = form or appearance: abstract means pulling the core quality out of a concrete form
抽 means to pull out and 象 means form or appearance. Abstract ideas pull the essential quality out of concrete examples, such as justice or freedom. Its opposite is 具体 (concrete).
抽 — hand radical 扌 + 由 yóu (phonetic)
抽 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 gives the meaning—an action done with the hand—while 由 supplies the sound (yóu → chōu). The original sense was to pull or draw out by hand, which extends to modern meanings like 'extract', 'draw (a lot)', or 'take time out'.