新幹線
しんかんせん · shinkansen · JLPT N2 · noun
"Bullet Train"
🚄 新 (new) + 幹 (trunk) + 線 (line) = a new trunk line, i.e. a main high-speed railway
幹線 means main line, the trunk route of a rail network. Adding 新 (new) gives the new high-speed main line, first opened as the Tokaido line in 1964.
新 — 立 stand + 木 tree + 斤 axe
Originally depicted cutting fresh wood with an axe (斤) from a tree (木), with 辛/立 as the phonetic component. The original meaning of 'firewood' was later written as 薪, while 新 took on the extended sense of 'new' or 'fresh'.