暗殺

あんさつ · ansatsu · JLPT N1 · noun

character assassination

🗡️ 暗 = dark, secret + 殺 = kill: a killing done in secret

暗 (an) means dark or hidden, and 殺 (satsu) means to kill. Together they name a killing carried out in secret, which is why the word means assassination.

暗 — sun 日 + sound 音 (phonetic)
暗 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 日 (sun) component carries the meaning, suggesting absence of sunlight, while 音 (yīn, sound) provides the phonetic clue for the reading àn. Originally meaning 'dark' or 'dim,' it later extended to figurative senses like 'hidden' or 'secret.'

More Japanese words · How Japanese works