没落
ぼつらく · botsuraku · JLPT N1 · noun
fall
🏚️ 没 = sink (没入 submerge), 落 = fall: sink-and-fall, a fall into ruin
Both characters point downward: 没 means sink under, 落 means drop. Together they name a fall from prosperity into ruin, like a fortune going under.
没 — water 氵 + 殳 (hand with weapon)
Originally depicted something sinking or being submerged in water, combining the water radical 氵 with 殳, suggesting a hand reaching into a whirlpool. The core sense was 'to sink, drown, disappear under water.' From there it extended to 'to vanish, not have,' giving the modern negative meaning 'not, have not.'
落 — grass radical 艹 + 洛 (water 氵 + 各)
Originally written with the grass radical 艹 over 洛, depicting leaves falling from plants. 洛 serves as the phonetic component (giving the luò sound) while 艹 supplies the meaning of vegetation. The sense extended from 'leaves falling' to the general meaning of falling, dropping, or settling down.