微量
びりょう · biryou · JLPT N1 · noun
sum
🧂 微 = tiny + 量 = amount: a tiny amount. Say bi-ryou, like a bee with a tiny ryo coin.
微 means minute or tiny, as in 微小 (microscopic). 量 means quantity. Together they name an amount so small it is barely there, like a pinch of salt.
量 — top 旦 (sunrise) + bottom 里 (village/measure)
Originally a pictograph of a funnel or measuring vessel used to gauge grain. The form evolved to suggest weighing at sunrise (旦) over a measured area (里). It split into two readings: liáng 'to measure' (the action) and liàng 'quantity' (the result).