複数
ふくすう · fukusuu · JLPT N2 · na-adj
plural
🍎🍎 複 (multiple, duplicate) + 数 (number) = many numbers, so plural
Read fuku-suu: 複 means multiple or duplicated, and 数 means number or count. Stacking counts together gives the idea of more than one.
数 — 婁 (lóu, phonetic) + 攵 (action radical)
数 is a phono-semantic compound. The right side 攵 (a hand holding a stick) suggests an action, originally tallying or counting by striking marks. The left side 婁 supplies the sound. Over time the meaning broadened from 'to count' to 'number' and 'several'.