直に
じかに · jikani · JLPT N3 · adverb
directly
🤝 直 = straight, direct + に: straight to it, nothing in between
直 means straight or direct, as in 直接 (chokusetsu, direct). Read じか, it means with no go-between: 直に話す = speak to someone in person, 直に触る = touch with bare hands. The same spelling read じきに means soon, at once.
直 — 十 ten + 目 eye + 乚 hidden line
Originally depicted an eye (目) looking straight along a vertical line, suggesting a direct, unswerving gaze. The form combines 目 'eye' with strokes indicating straightness. From this came the meanings 'straight,' 'upright,' and by extension 'honest' or 'direct.'