待遇
たいぐう · taiguu · JLPT N1 · noun
treatment
🛎️ 待 (wait) + 遇 (meet, encounter) = how you are met and attended to: treatment
The hotel reception bell fits: staff wait to meet you and see to your needs. 待遇 also means pay and benefits, as in how your job treats you.
待 — chì 彳 (step) + 寺 sì (temple/phonetic)
待 combines the 'step' radical 彳, suggesting movement or a path, with 寺, which serves as the phonetic component. Originally it conveyed the idea of stopping along a road, which extended to 'waiting.' Over time it also took on related meanings like 'to treat' or 'to deal with' someone.
遇 — 辶 (walk radical) + 禺 (phonetic, monkey)
遇 is a phono-semantic compound. The walking radical 辶 supplies the meaning of going or moving along a road, while 禺 (an old word depicting a monkey-like creature) provides the sound. Together they evoke encountering someone while traveling, giving the modern senses 'meet,' 'come across,' or 'treat.'