解放
かいほう · kaihou · JLPT N2 · noun
liberation
🔓 解 = untie + 放 = let go: together, untie and let go means liberation
解 means untie or dissolve, and 放 means let go or set free. Combined, 解放 means freeing something that was bound. Say it as kai-hou.
解 — horn 角 + knife 刀 + ox 牛
解 is an ideograph showing hands using a knife (刀) to separate the horn (角) from an ox (牛). The original meaning was to butcher or dismember an ox, which broadened to 'untie, separate, loosen,' and then extended figuratively to 'explain' or 'understand'—to take something apart mentally.
放 — 方 (square/phonetic) + 攵 (rap/strike radical)
放 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 方 supplies the sound and 攵 (a hand holding a stick) supplies the meaning of striking or driving away. The original sense was to banish or drive out, which broadened over time to 'release', 'let go', and 'put down'.