中毒
ちゅうどく · chuudoku · JLPT N1 · noun
poisoning
🍄 中 = inside, 毒 = poison: poison that gets inside your body
中 (ちゅう) means inside or middle, and 毒 (どく) means poison. Together they describe poison that has gotten into the body, the same 中 sound as in 中国 (China).
中 — vertical stroke 丨 through enclosure 口
Pictograph of a banner or pole piercing the center of a target or territory, depicting the idea of 'middle' or 'center'. The horizontal frame represents boundaries, and the vertical line marks the central axis. The meaning extended from spatial center to 'middle, central, China' (中国, the Middle Kingdom).
毒 — grass 屮 on top + 母 (mother/below)
Originally an associative compound showing a toxic plant (the 屮/生 element on top) over 毋, suggesting something harmful that must be forbidden. The early meaning was 'poisonous herb,' which broadened to 'poison,' 'toxic,' and figuratively 'cruel' or 'malicious.' The modern form keeps this top-plant + bottom-warning structure.