案の定
あんのじょう · annojou · JLPT N1 · adverb
sure enough
🎯 案 (plan) + 定 (settled): things went exactly as planned, as expected
The の links the two kanji into 'plan of settled.' Use it when something you expected or feared happens right on schedule, like 'sure enough, it rained.'
定 — roof 宀 + 正 (correct/upright, phonetic)
Originally written with 宀 (roof) over 正 (upright/correct), suggesting a household settled and orderly under its roof. Over time 正 simplified to 㐬-like form at the bottom, and the meaning shifted from 'settled home' to the broader senses of 'fix, stable, decide.'