考える
かんがえる · kangaeru · JLPT N4 · verb-ichidan
to think
🧠 kangaeru: a KANGAroo stops to think before each hop
The opening sound kanga- matches the start of kangaroo, and the verb ends in the ordinary -eru. The kanji 考 also appears in 参考 (reference) and 思考 (thought), so it reliably signals considering or weighing something.
考 — old 老 (top) + 丂 phonetic
Originally written like 老 ('old'), 考 depicted an elderly person with long hair leaning on a cane, and the two characters were once interchangeable. Over time 考 specialized to mean 'deceased father' and later 'to examine, test, investigate,' with the bottom 丂 hinting at the sound.