日光
にっこう · nikkou · JLPT N3 · noun
sunlight
☀️ 日光 = sun + light: 日 (ni, sun) joined with 光 (kou, light)
日 is the sun, 光 is light, so the compound reads literally as sun-light. In this word 日 is read nichi, which shortens to nik before kou. Nikkō is also the name of a famous shrine town north of Tokyo, and the old saying goes: never say kekkō (splendid) until you have seen Nikkō.
日 — pictograph of the sun
日 is a pictograph of the sun, originally drawn as a circle with a dot or stroke inside representing the sun's substance. Over time the round shape was squared off into the modern rectangular form. It means 'sun' and by extension 'day'.
光 — fire 火 (top) + person 儿 (bottom)
Originally a pictograph of a person with fire above their head, depicting a torchbearer or the radiance from a flame. The character evolved to mean 'light' or 'brightness' in general, and by extension 'glory' and 'to shine.' The modern top component is a stylized form of 火 (fire).