状況

じょうきょう · joukyou · JLPT N3 · noun

situation

状況 = condition (状) + circumstances (況): how things stand

状 means form or condition (as in 状態, state). 況 means circumstances (as in 不況, bad times = recession). Both halves say roughly the same thing, so the compound doubles up: the condition of the circumstances, i.e. the situation.

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