成果
せいか · seika · JLPT N1 · noun
consequence
🍎 成 (become/achieve) + 果 (fruit): what you achieve bears fruit, i.e. results
成 means to complete or achieve, and 果 means fruit. Results are the fruit of your efforts, so 成果 means outcomes or achievements.
成 — 戊 (halberd/weapon) + 丁 (nail/man)
Originally a pictograph of a halberd or axe-like weapon, suggesting the act of completing a task by force. Over time it shifted from 'to subdue' to the broader meaning 'to accomplish' or 'to become'. The 丁 element inside also hints at the chéng sound.
果 — fruit shape 田-like top + tree 木
果 is a pictograph: early forms show a tree (木) with round fruit hanging on its branches, later stylized into the 田-like top. Its original meaning was 'fruit', which extended to 'result, outcome' — the fruit of an action — and to 'resolute, decisive'.