株式
かぶしき · kabushiki · JLPT N1 · noun
stock
📈 株 = tree stump, which came to mean a share in a business; 式 = system. Stock = share-system
株 originally meant a tree stump, and a stump was used as a stake, so it came to mean a share in a business. 式 means formula or system, so 株式 is the system of shares.
株 — tree 木 + vermilion 朱 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 木 ('tree') gives the meaning while 朱 supplies the sound 'zhū'. It originally referred to the exposed stump or trunk of a tree at ground level, and from that root sense it came to serve as a measure word for individual plants and, in modern usage, for shares of stock.
式 — 工 (work) + 弋 (phonetic)
式 is a phono-semantic compound: 工 ('work, craft') gives the meaning of a tool, rule, or method, while 弋 supplies the sound. It originally referred to a standard pattern or model used in craftsmanship, then broadened to mean 'style, form, ceremony, or formula.'