話
はなし · hanashi · JLPT N5 · noun
talk
💬📖 話 = 言 (speech) + 舌 (tongue): words off the tongue make talk, or a story
Etymology hook: the left part 言 means speech, the right part 舌 means tongue. Sound hook: hanashi is the noun form of hanasu (to speak), so a hanashi is simply a thing spoken, whether a chat or a story.