返事
へんじ · henji · JLPT N4 · noun
answer
✉️ 返事 = return (返) + matter (事): the matter you send back
返 means to return or give back, and 事 means matter or affair. A reply is literally the returned matter. Sound hook: henji starts like hen, and a hen clucks back whenever it is called, so henji is the answer back.
事 — hand 又 holding a banner/tablet on a pole
Originally a pictograph of a hand (又) grasping a pole or ceremonial banner used by an official, depicting the act of conducting court business. From this it came to mean 'affair, matter, business, service.' It shares an ancient origin with 史 (scribe) and 吏 (official).