注文
ちゅうもん · chuumon · JLPT N3 · noun
order
📝 注文 = note + writing: an order is a written note of what you want
注 means to note down or annotate, and 文 means writing. An order (注文) is your request in writing, like a waiter noting your meal or a shop logging what you bought. Chuumon also sounds a bit like choose 'em, which is what you do when you order.
注 — water 氵 + master 主 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 氵 (water) gives the meaning of pouring or flowing, while 主 supplies the sound. The original sense was 'to pour water in,' which extended to 'concentrate, focus' (as in pouring attention) and 'to annotate' (pouring explanation into a text).
文 — pictograph of crossed lines on a chest
文 originally depicted a person with patterns or tattoos drawn on the chest, shown as crossed or interwoven lines. From this image of decorative markings, it came to mean 'pattern,' then 'writing,' 'script,' and 'literature' or 'culture.' The modern senses all trace back to the idea of meaningful marks.