独自
どくじ · dokuji · JLPT N1 · na-adj
original
🦄 独 = alone + 自 = self: what sets a thing apart as its own, one-of-a-kind trait
独 means alone and 自 means self, so 独自 describes a quality that belongs only to one thing and marks it as distinct from others.
独 — dog radical 犭 + 蜀 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 犭 (dog) gives the meaning, since dogs were thought to fight when kept together and so were often kept singly, while 蜀 supplies the sound. The original sense was 'solitary dog,' which broadened to 'alone, single, only.'
自 — pictograph of a nose
自 originally depicted a human nose, shown frontally with the bridge and nostrils. Ancient Chinese pointed to their own nose to mean 'me,' so 自 shifted to mean 'self' or 'oneself.' A new character 鼻 was later created to carry the original 'nose' meaning.