裁判
さいばん · saiban · JLPT N3 · noun
test
⚖️ 裁判 = cut/decide (裁) + judge/seal (判): the court cuts to a verdict
裁 (sai) means to cut cloth or to decide, as in 裁く sabaku, to pass judgment. 判 (ban/han) is a seal or a ruling, as in 判子 hanko, a name stamp. A trial is where the case gets decided and then stamped.
裁 — 戈 (halberd) + 𢦏 (phonetic, to cut)
裁 originally depicted cutting cloth with a blade, combining 衣 (clothing, embedded in the character) with 𢦏 as the phonetic component suggesting cutting. The core meaning 'to cut cloth' extended to tailoring, then broadly to 'judge, decide, reduce' — as in deciding by cutting away. Modern uses include 裁判 (judge) and 裁缝 (tailor).
判 — half 半 (phonetic) + knife 刂 (semantic)
判 combines 半 'half' with 刂 'knife', literally suggesting cutting something in two. The knife radical gives the meaning of dividing or judging, while 半 provides the sound. From 'splitting apart' it extended to 'discriminate, judge, decide'.