獲得

かくとく · kakutoku · JLPT N1 · noun

acquisition

🎁 獲 = catch game (animal radical 犭) + 得 = get; together: catch it and get to keep it

獲 originally meant catching game in a hunt, shown by the animal radical 犭. 得 means to get or obtain. Together they cover catching something and making it yours.

得 — 彳 (step) + 旦 (sun/day) + 寸 (hand)
Originally depicted a hand 寸 reaching for a cowrie shell 貝 (later simplified to 旦), with 彳 'step' added to show going out and obtaining something. The core meaning is 'to get' or 'obtain'. The reading děi extends this to 'must/have to' — what one is obliged to get done.

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