服
ふく · fuku · JLPT N5 · noun
apparel
👕 Sounds like FOOL-proof outfit: fuku = the clothes you put on
Same character as Chinese 服 (fú), as in 衣服 yīfu, clothes. In Japanese it stands alone as fuku and appears in compounds like 洋服 (yōfuku, Western clothes) and 制服 (seifuku, uniform).
服 — 月 (moon/flesh) + 𠬝 (kneeling figure with hand)
Originally depicted a hand subduing a kneeling person beside a boat (later simplified to 月), suggesting submission or service. The meaning extended from 'submit/serve' to 'clothing' (what one wears in service) and 'to take' as in medicine. The phonetic role of 𠬝 helps fix the reading fú.