芝生
しばふ · shibafu · JLPT N3 · noun
lawn
🌱 芝生 = turf grass (芝 shiba) + grow (生 fu): grass that is grown
芝 (shiba) is the short turf grass used for lawns; 生 here takes the rare reading fu, meaning a place where something grows. So shibafu is literally a patch where turf grass grows. Same shiba as in Shiba Inu, by one folk etymology the brushwood dog.
生 — sprout 屮 above earth 土
Originally a pictograph showing a young plant sprouting from the ground, with 屮 (a sprout) above 土 (earth). The core meaning is 'to be born, to grow, to live,' which extends to 'raw, unripe, unfamiliar.' The modern form has simplified the sprout shape but preserves the image of new growth emerging from soil.