等しい
ひとしい · hitoshii · JLPT N3 · i-adj
equal
⚖️ hitoshii sounds like he-to-she: he to she, treated as equal
The kanji 等 is 竹 bamboo over 寺 temple: bamboo slips sorted into even, matching rows. The same 等 appears in 平等 (byoudou, equality) and 等分 (toubun, equal division).
等 — bamboo radical 竹 + temple 寺
Originally referred to bamboo slips of equal length used for record-keeping, with 竹 (bamboo) as the semantic component and 寺 suggesting the phonetic. From 'equal-length slips' the meaning extended to 'rank, class,' then 'equal,' and later to 'wait' (to be of equal status in line).