表現
ひょうげん · hyougen · JLPT N3 · noun
expression
🎭 表 surface + 現 appear = what you bring to the surface and show
表 means surface or outside (as in 表 omote, the front side). 現 means to appear (as in 現れる arawareru). Put together, 表現 is making something inside appear on the outside: an expression or a presentation.
表 — fur 毛 on top + garment 衣 below
Originally depicted an outer fur garment, with 毛 (fur) above 衣 (clothing), showing the hairy outside of a coat. From 'outer garment' it extended to mean 'outside, surface,' then 'to show, express, display,' and later 'table, chart' as something laid out on the surface.