用心
ようじん · youjin · JLPT N3 · noun
care
⚠️ 用心 = use + heart/mind: put your mind to it, so take care
用 (yō) means to use and 心 (jin/shin) means heart or mind. To use your mind on something is to pay attention, so the word means caution. It shows up in 火の用心, beware of fire, and 用心深い, very careful.
用 — pictograph of a bucket or wooden pail
用 originally depicted a bucket or container, possibly a sacrificial vessel made of wood. Over time it was borrowed to mean 'to use' or 'employ,' losing its concrete object sense. The modern meaning 'use' has been standard since early classical Chinese.
心 — pictograph of a heart with chambers and aorta
心 is a pictograph showing a stylized heart, with strokes representing the organ's chambers and the aorta at the top. Originally meaning the physical heart, it broadened to cover mind, feelings, and intentions, since ancient Chinese thought located thinking and emotion in the heart.