量る
はかる · hakaru · JLPT N3 · verb-godan
to weigh
⚖️📏 hakaru sounds like hack-a-ruler: you hack a ruler to measure
量 contains 里 (ri, an old unit of distance), a measuring unit inside the kanji. 量る is mainly for weight and volume. Use 測る for length or depth and 計る for time or counting.
量 — top 旦 (sunrise) + bottom 里 (village/measure)
Originally a pictograph of a funnel or measuring vessel used to gauge grain. The form evolved to suggest weighing at sunrise (旦) over a measured area (里). It split into two readings: liáng 'to measure' (the action) and liàng 'quantity' (the result).