解決
かいけつ · kaiketsu · JLPT N3 · noun
colony
🔓 解決 = untie + decide: undo the knot, then decide the matter
解 means to untie or unravel (as in 理解, understanding) and 決 means to decide (as in 決定). Untie a problem and decide it, and the matter is settled. Sound hook: kai-ketsu, the KEY gets it (ketsu) open.
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.