～等
～とう · ～tou · JLPT N2 · noun
degree
🥇 等 = 竹 bamboo + 寺 office: bamboo slips sorted into ranks
Officials once sorted bamboo record slips into equal grades, so 等 came to mean rank or class. As the suffix ～とう it marks a level or place: 一等 ittou is first class or first prize, and 三等 santou is third place.
等 — bamboo radical 竹 + temple 寺
Originally referred to bamboo slips of equal length used for record-keeping, with 竹 (bamboo) as the semantic component and 寺 suggesting the phonetic. From 'equal-length slips' the meaning extended to 'rank, class,' then 'equal,' and later to 'wait' (to be of equal status in line).
～ら · ～ra · JLPT N2 · noun
person
👥 彼ら = he + ら: add ら and one person becomes a group
The kanji 等 means equal or same rank, so ら marks a group of equals: 彼ら they, 僕ら we, 子供ら children. It sounds a little casual or rough; たち is the more neutral plural for people.
等 — bamboo radical 竹 + temple 寺
Originally referred to bamboo slips of equal length used for record-keeping, with 竹 (bamboo) as the semantic component and 寺 suggesting the phonetic. From 'equal-length slips' the meaning extended to 'rank, class,' then 'equal,' and later to 'wait' (to be of equal status in line).