暗示
あんじ · anji · JLPT N1 · noun
hint
🤫 暗 = dark, 示 = show: a hint is a dark-ish signal that shows only a little
暗 means dark or hidden, and 示 means to show or indicate. Together, 暗示 is showing something without saying it outright: a hint or suggestion.
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.'
示 — altar 示 (二 + 小); originally 丅 with three strokes
示 is a pictograph of an ancient altar or sacrificial stand, with the top line representing heaven and the strokes below depicting offerings or hanging banners. It originally meant 'to show' something to the spirits, and by extension came to mean 'to show, display, or indicate' in general. As a radical, it appears in many characters related to ritual, worship, and divine matters.