方法
ほうほう · houhou · JLPT N3 · noun
method
🧭🔧 Sounds like how-how: a method is the answer to how, how?
Decomposition: 方 = direction, way + 法 = law, rule. A rule for which way to go is a method. Hook: hou-hou echoes how? how?, the question a technique answers.
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.'
法 — water 氵 + go 去
Originally written 灋, combining the water radical 氵 (suggesting a level standard, like water finding its level), the mythical beast 廌 (which judged guilt), and 去 (to remove or banish). The 廌 was later dropped, leaving 法. The core meaning evolved from 'law' or 'standard' to also include 'method' and 'way of doing'.