道徳
どうとく · doutoku · JLPT N3 · noun
ethical motive
⚖️ 道徳 = way + virtue: the virtuous way to live is morality
道 (dō) is the path or way, as in 柔道 judō, the gentle way. 徳 (toku) is virtue. Together they mean the way of virtue, which is morals. A learner can hook doutoku onto do good.
道 — 辶 (walk) + 首 (head)
Originally a compound of 辶 'walk/movement' and 首 'head', depicting a path one walks while looking ahead. The literal sense 'road, way' extended metaphorically to 'method, doctrine, the Way (Dao)'. This philosophical meaning became central in Daoist and Confucian thought.