自然
しぜん · shizen · JLPT N3 · noun
nature
🌳 自然 = self (自) + as it is (然): what is so by itself
自 means self and 然 means being so. Nature is whatever is the way it is by itself, with nobody making it. The same logic gives the second meaning: a spontaneous act happens by itself, unforced.
自 — pictograph of a nose
自 originally depicted a human nose, shown frontally with the bridge and nostrils. Ancient Chinese pointed to their own nose to mean 'me,' so 自 shifted to mean 'self' or 'oneself.' A new character 鼻 was later created to carry the original 'nose' meaning.