勇敢
ゆうかん · yuukan · JLPT N1 · na-adj
bravery
🦁 勇 (yǒng, brave) + 敢 (gǎn, dare): brave means daring to face danger
Both characters mean courage; 敢 literally means to dare. Pronounced yuukan: 'yoo-kahn', like 'you can' with a hard k, so you CAN be brave.
敢 — 耳 ear + 又 hand (right) + 攵-like top
Oracle bone forms show a hand seizing an animal or object, suggesting boldness in taking hold. Later script regularized the shape, with components resembling a hand grasping near an ear. The original sense of daring to seize extended to the modern meaning 'to dare' or 'bold.'