精巧
せいこう · seikou · JLPT N3 · na-adj
elaborate
⌚💎 精巧 = refined (精) + skilful (巧): finely crafted work
精 has the rice radical 米 and first meant polished rice, which is how it came to mean refined or precise. 巧 has the tool radical 工 and means clever or skilful. Together they describe work that is detailed, delicate and expertly made.
精 — rice 米 + blue/green 青 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 米 (rice) gives the meaning, while 青 supplies the sound. Originally referred to polished, refined rice — grain with the husk removed. The sense broadened to 'refined, pure, essence,' and later 'fine, skilled, spirit.'
巧 — 工 (work) + 丂 (breath/exhalation phonetic)
巧 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left 工 (work, craft) gives the meaning, pointing to skilled craftsmanship, while the right 丂 supplies the sound. From 'skilled handiwork' the meaning broadened to 'clever, ingenious,' and later to 'coincidental' as in 凑巧.