方々
かたがた · katagata · JLPT N3 · noun
person
👥 方 polite person + 々 repeat mark = person, person → honoured people
方 (kata) is the polite word for a person, as in あの方, that person. The mark 々 repeats the kanji before it, so 方々 means several honoured people. The sound also doubles: kata becomes katagata.
方 — pictograph of a plow or two boats joined side by side
方 originated as a pictograph, traditionally interpreted as a plow handle or two boats lashed together. From the idea of paired boats it extended to mean 'side by side,' then 'square,' 'direction,' and 'region.' It was later borrowed for the abstract sense of 'method' or 'way.'
ほうぼう · houbou · JLPT N3 · noun
there
🧭 方 = direction; 々 repeats it, so direction after direction = everywhere
々 repeats the kanji before it, and a doubled noun in Japanese often means many. 方 (hō) is a side or direction, so hōbō covers every side at once. Read as かたがた, the same characters instead mean people, used politely.
方 — pictograph of a plow or two boats joined side by side
方 originated as a pictograph, traditionally interpreted as a plow handle or two boats lashed together. From the idea of paired boats it extended to mean 'side by side,' then 'square,' 'direction,' and 'region.' It was later borrowed for the abstract sense of 'method' or 'way.'