申告
しんこく · shinkoku · JLPT N3 · noun
report
📝📢 申告 = state (申す, to say) + announce (告げる): formally declaring something
申 is in 申す, the humble verb for saying, and 告 is in 告げる, to tell or announce. Together they mean a formal declaration to an authority, as in 確定申告, the yearly tax return, or a customs declaration.
告 — ox 牛 (top) + mouth 口
Originally a pictograph showing an ox with something on its head, possibly a yoke or sacrificial marker, combined with 口 (mouth) to suggest announcing or reporting. The character came to mean 'to tell' or 'to announce,' as in making a formal declaration. Today it commonly appears in words like 告诉 (to tell) and 报告 (report).