敬う
うやまう · uyamau · JLPT N2 · verb-godan
to show respect
🙇⛰️ Sounds like oo, yama! (yama = mountain): the awe you show a great mountain
The kanji 敬 means respect, as in 敬語 (keigo, honorific speech) and 尊敬 (sonkei, esteem). Hook: u-YAMA-u has 山 (yama, mountain) in the middle, and you respect someone the way you look up to a mountain.
敬 — 苟 (gǒu, phonetic) + 攵 (tap/strike)
Originally depicted a person being urged or disciplined with a stick (攵), with 苟 providing the sound. The early sense was 'to warn' or 'to be on guard,' which extended to careful, attentive behavior. From there it shifted to 'respect' and 'reverence,' the modern meaning.