制服
せいふく · seifuku · JLPT N1 · noun
uniform
👔 制 = rule/system + 服 = clothing: clothing set by a rule, which is a uniform
服 also appears in 服装 (clothing). 制 means rule or to make, so 制服 is clothing required by a rule. Schools and workplaces use it.
制 — knife 刂 + 未 (tree branches)
Originally depicted a knife 刂 cutting branches from a tree, showing the act of trimming or shaping wood. From this concrete sense of cutting to size came the meanings 'to make,' 'to manufacture,' and by extension 'to control' or 'regulate' — shaping things to a desired form.
服 — 月 (moon/flesh) + 𠬝 (kneeling figure with hand)
Originally depicted a hand subduing a kneeling person beside a boat (later simplified to 月), suggesting submission or service. The meaning extended from 'submit/serve' to 'clothing' (what one wears in service) and 'to take' as in medicine. The phonetic role of 𠬝 helps fix the reading fú.