村
むら · mura · JLPT N5 · noun
village
🏘️ 村 = tree 木 + inch 寸: a small measured plot among the trees
The kanji joins 木 (tree) with 寸 (inch, a small measure): a little settlement marked out by the woods. For the sound, mura echoes mural: every village has a mural on its hall wall, so mura = village.
村 — tree 木 + inch/measure 寸
村 combines 木 (tree) with 寸 (inch/hand), where 寸 also serves as the phonetic. Originally written 邨 with the 邑 (settlement) radical, it referred to a small rural settlement, often near trees. The modern form 村 became standard, keeping the meaning 'village.'