故郷
こきょう · kokyou · JLPT N3 · noun
hometown
🏡 故郷 = old + village: the place your life first came from
故 (ko) means old or former, as in 故人, the deceased. 郷 (kyou) means village or rural home, as in 郷土, native soil. Together they mean your old village, the hometown you came from. It often carries nostalgia, as in 故郷を離れる, to leave home.
故 — 古 (old) + 攵 (action/strike)
故 combines 古 'old' as the phonetic with 攵, a variant of 攴 meaning to strike or act. Originally it referred to a cause or reason behind an action. From this it extended to mean 'former, old, deceased' and 'therefore, hence' as a connector.
ふるさと · furusato · JLPT N2 · noun
town
🏡 故 = old, 郷 = village: the old village you come from
故郷 is read furusato. 故 means old or former and 郷 means village, so it names the village where you were born and grew up.
故 — 古 (old) + 攵 (action/strike)
故 combines 古 'old' as the phonetic with 攵, a variant of 攴 meaning to strike or act. Originally it referred to a cause or reason behind an action. From this it extended to mean 'former, old, deceased' and 'therefore, hence' as a connector.