反射
はんしゃ · hansha · JLPT N1 · noun
contemplation
🪞 反 = back, 射 = shoot: 反射 is light or sound shot back off a surface
反 means back or against, and 射 means shoot or project. Light bouncing off a mirror and sound echoing off a wall are both 反射, so one word covers reflection and reverberation.
反 — hand 又 under cliff 厂
Originally a pictograph of a hand (又) turning something over against a cliff or slope (厂), depicting the action of flipping or reversing. From this came the core meaning 'to turn over,' which extended to 'opposite,' 'contrary,' and 'rebel against.' The character is purely semantic, with no phonetic component.
射 — body 身 + inch/hand 寸
Originally a pictograph of a hand drawing a bow with an arrow. The ancient form showed 弓 (bow) plus 矢 (arrow) or a hand. Over time it was reshaped into 身 (body) plus 寸 (hand/measure), and the meaning 'to shoot' was extended to 'emit' or 'project'.