用途
ようと · youto · JLPT N2 · noun
use
🔧 用途 = 用 (use) + 途 (purpose, path): the purpose a thing is used for
途 originally means road or route, so 用途 is the route a tool takes toward its intended use. Read it as youto.
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.