几帳面
きちょうめん · kichoumen · JLPT N1 · na-adj
methodical
📏 几帳 = square-cornered curtain stand + 面 = surface: squared-off = methodical
几帳 was a Heian-era curtain stand with precise right-angle corners. 面 means face or side. Someone 几帳面 keeps everything squared-off, neat and on schedule.
几 — single component: small table 几
几 is a pictograph of a small low table or stool, showing two legs supporting a flat top. It originally meant 'a small table' and still carries that sense in words like 茶几 (tea table). It was later borrowed phonetically for the unrelated meaning 'how many / several' (jǐ), which is now its most common use.
面 — enclosure 囗 + 自 (nose/face inside)
Originally a pictograph showing a face framed by an outline, with 自 (nose) inside representing the central feature of the face. The early meaning was 'face,' which extended to 'surface,' 'side,' and 'aspect.' In simplified Chinese, 面 also absorbed 麵, adding the meaning 'flour/noodles.'