毒
どく · doku · JLPT N3 · noun
poison
☠️🍄 doku sounds like doc: swallowed poison? Call the doc, quick!
Etymology: the top of 毒 comes from a sprouting plant and the bottom is 母 (mother). Classical dictionaries define it as a harmful herb that grows thick. The same character is read dú in Chinese, as in 中毒, being poisoned.
毒 — grass 屮 on top + 母 (mother/below)
Originally an associative compound showing a toxic plant (the 屮/生 element on top) over 毋, suggesting something harmful that must be forbidden. The early meaning was 'poisonous herb,' which broadened to 'poison,' 'toxic,' and figuratively 'cruel' or 'malicious.' The modern form keeps this top-plant + bottom-warning structure.