処分
しょぶん · shobun · JLPT N1 · noun
punishment
🗑️ 処 (deal with) + 分 (divide up): dealing with stuff by sorting out what happens to it
Used for garbage disposal, handling a matter, and punishing offenders. The shared root is deciding what becomes of something, whether it is thrown away, settled, or penalized.
分 — knife 刀 + eight 八 (split apart)
分 originally depicted a knife (刀) cutting something into two parts, shown by 八 above (which itself meant 'divide'). The core sense is 'to divide' or 'split', from which extended meanings like 'portion', 'minute', and 'part' developed. Pronounced fèn, it carries the sense of an allotted share.