断定
だんてい · dantei · JLPT N2 · noun
decision
🔨 断 = cut off + 定 = settle: cut off doubt and settle the matter for a firm conclusion
断 means cut or sever, and 定 means fix or set. Together they describe cutting off doubt to fix a final decision, as a judge's gavel does.
断 — thread 㡭 (silk bundle) + axe 斤
Originally written with 㡭 (entangled silk threads) on the left and 斤 (axe) on the right, depicting an axe cutting through bundled threads. From this concrete image of severing came the meanings 'to cut off,' 'to break,' and by extension 'to decide' or 'judge'—as in resolving a matter decisively.
定 — roof 宀 + 正 (correct/upright, phonetic)
Originally written with 宀 (roof) over 正 (upright/correct), suggesting a household settled and orderly under its roof. Over time 正 simplified to 㐬-like form at the bottom, and the meaning shifted from 'settled home' to the broader senses of 'fix, stable, decide.'