直接
ちょくせつ · chokusetsu · JLPT N3 · na-adj
direct
🎯 直接 = straight (直) + connect (接): contact with no middleman
直 (choku) means straight or upright, and 接 (setsu) means to touch or connect, as in 接続 (setsuzoku, connection). A straight connection with no go-between is direct, immediate, firsthand. Opposite: 間接 (kansetsu), connected through a gap, so indirect.
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.'
接 — hand 扌 + concubine 妾 (phonetic)
接 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 carries the meaning of receiving or joining with the hand, while 妾 supplies the sound. From 'taking with the hand' it broadened to 'receive, meet, connect, join together'.