残る
のこる · nokoru · JLPT N4 · verb-godan
to remain
🍪 No-koru: NO CORE eaten, so the core is what remains
Sound-alike: nokoru ≈ no core. After the apple is eaten, the core is the part left over. The kanji 残 also appears in 残念 (zannen, regret) and 残業 (zangyō, overtime) — feelings and work that are left behind.
残 — 歹 (bones/death) + 戔 (small/cut, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 歹 (bare bones, death) gives the meaning of harm or ruin, while 戔 (two 戈 spears, suggesting cutting) supplies the sound. Originally meant to injure or destroy, later extended to 'remnant, leftover' — what remains after damage.