背負う
せおう · seou · JLPT N2 · verb-godan
to carry on back or shoulder
🎒 背 (back) + 負う (to bear): bear a load on the back, or a duty on the shoulders
背 means back and 負う means to bear or owe. Together they describe carrying a load on your back or shoulders, or being saddled with a responsibility.
背 — north 北 (phonetic) + flesh 月/肉
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 月 (a form of 肉, 'flesh/body') gives the meaning 'back of the body,' while 北 supplies the sound. Interestingly, 北 itself depicted two people back-to-back and once meant 'back'; when it was borrowed for 'north,' 背 was created with the flesh radical to keep the original sense.