祝う
いわう · iwau · JLPT N3 · verb-godan
to celebrate
🎉🎂 iwau sounds like ee-WOW! — what you shout when you celebrate someone
The kanji 祝 is 礻 (altar, things to do with the gods) + 兄 (a person kneeling with an open mouth). It began as a person speaking blessings at an altar, and now means offering good wishes: 誕生日を祝う, to celebrate a birthday.
祝 — 示 (altar/spirit) + 兄 (elder brother/person speaking)
Originally an oracle bone pictograph showing a person kneeling before an altar (示) with an open mouth, representing a priest reciting prayers or invocations. The meaning extended from 'invoke blessings' to the modern sense of 'wish' or 'congratulate'. The 示 component signals ritual/spirit, while 兄 contributes both meaning and sound.