地獄
じごく · jigoku · JLPT N1 · noun
hell
🔥 地 (earth) + 獄 (prison) = hell: a prison beneath the earth
獄 (goku) means prison, and 地 (ji) means earth or ground. In Buddhist belief, the place of punishment for the dead lies underground, so jigoku is the earthen prison of hell.
地 — earth 土 + 也 (phonetic)
地 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left component 土 means 'earth' or 'soil' and gives the meaning, while 也 on the right hints at the pronunciation. Originally referring to the ground or land, it broadened to mean 'place,' 'region,' and 'territory.'