出社
しゅっしゃ · shussha · JLPT N1 · noun
work
🏢 出 = go out + 社 = company: going out to the company means going to work
社 is the same character as in 会社 (kaisha, company). Its opposite is 退社 (taisha), leaving the company at the end of the workday.
出 — foot 止 emerging from enclosure 凵
出 is a pictograph showing a foot or plant stepping out of a hollow or enclosure, depicting the act of going forth. The original sense of 'coming out' or 'emerging' has remained stable since oracle bone script. It now broadly means 'to exit, go out, or produce.'
社 — 示 (altar/spirit) + 土 (earth)
Originally referred to the god of the soil and the altar where villagers worshipped it. The 示 component signals ritual or spirits, while 土 means earth, together evoking a community shrine. The meaning later broadened to 'community' and 'society'.