内閣
ないかく · naikaku · JLPT N1 · noun
cabinet
🏛️ 内 (inside) + 閣 (state hall, high government building) = the ministers who sit inside the state hall
内閣 combines 内, meaning inside, with 閣, a high government hall or pavilion. The ministers who meet inside that hall form the cabinet, which is also the government.
内 — enclosure 冂 + enter 入
内 originally depicted something entering (入) into an enclosed space (冂), giving the core sense of 'inside' or 'within'. The pictographic image of going into a covered area extended naturally to meanings like inner, internal, and inland. It contrasts with 外 ('outside').