方向
ほうこう · houkou · JLPT N3 · noun
direction
🧭 方向 = side + facing toward: the side you face is your direction
方 means side or direction, as in 東方 (the east side). 向 means to face toward, as in 向かう (to head for). Together they mean which side you are facing, or which way you are heading.
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.'
向 — roof 宀 + mouth 口
Originally a pictograph of a house with a north-facing window, showing an opening in a wall under a roof. The early meaning was 'north window,' which extended to 'the direction something faces,' then broadly to 'toward' or 'direction.' The modern shape simplified the window into 口.