機能
きのう · kinou · JLPT N3 · noun
function
⚙️ 機能 = machine + ability: what a mechanism is able to do
機 (machine, mechanism) + 能 (ability, can do). A function is what a machine can do. Watch out: kinou also means yesterday (昨日), but that word has different kanji, so let the characters tell them apart.
能 — 厶 (head) + 月 (body/flesh) + 匕匕 (legs)
Originally a pictograph of a bear, showing its head, body, and powerful legs. Because bears were seen as strong and capable, the character was borrowed to mean 'ability' or 'can'. A new character 熊 (with the fire radical 灬) was later created for 'bear'.