片付く
かたづく · kataduku · JLPT N3 · verb-godan
to put in order
🧹📦 片 piece + 付く stick on: each piece sticks where it belongs, so it's tidied
片 (kata) means a piece or one side, and 付く (tsuku) means to stick or settle. Once every piece has settled into place, a room is in order or a problem is solved. 片付ける is the transitive form: to tidy something up yourself.
片 — right half of 木 (tree split vertically)
Pictograph showing the right half of a tree 木 split down the middle, depicting a thin slice or slab of wood. From this came the meanings 'slice,' 'flat thin piece,' and by extension 'sheet' or 'card.' Its mirror image 爿 represents the left half.
付 — person radical 亻 + hand 寸
付 originally pictured a hand (寸) reaching out to hand something to a person (亻), depicting the act of giving or delivering. The core sense 'to hand over, deliver, pay' has remained stable since ancient bronze inscriptions. It also serves as a phonetic component in characters like 附, 符, and 府.