粋
いき · iki · JLPT N3 · na-adj
purity
🍚 粋 = rice 米 + 九: polished, unmixed rice → purity, then refined style
The old form 粹 meant pure, unmixed rice, the essence of the grain. From purity came refinement, and Edo townspeople used iki for understated, effortless chic. It sounds like icky, which is the opposite of iki.
すい · sui · JLPT N1 · na-adj
essence
🍚 米 (rice) milled down to its finest core = essence
The 米 radical means rice. 粋 originally named the finest, purest part of milled rice, and later came to mean the refined essence of anything, as well as stylish chic.