献立
こんだて · kondate · JLPT N2 · noun
menu
🍽️ 献 = offer + 立 = stand: a menu stands up to offer dishes
Kon-date: 献 (kon, offer) and 立 (date, stand up). The menu is what the kitchen offers you, standing ready on the table.
献 — 南 (south, phonetic) + 犬 (dog, semantic)
Originally written 獻, this character depicted a dog (犬) being offered, with 鬳 serving as the phonetic component indicating a ritual cauldron. It referred to presenting sacrificial offerings to ancestors or rulers. The meaning broadened over time to 'offer' or 'dedicate' in general, and the modern simplified form 献 replaces 鬳 with 南.
立 — person standing on ground (大 over 一)
Pictograph of a person standing with arms outstretched on the ground line below. The original oracle bone form clearly shows a frontal human figure planted on the earth. The core meaning 'to stand' extended to 'establish, set up, erect.'