自立
じりつ · jiritsu · JLPT N1 · noun
independence
🧍 自 (self) + 立 (stand): standing on your own two feet
立 means to stand, as in 立つ (tatsu). Self plus stand gives self-reliance: standing up without anyone else holding you up.
自 — pictograph of a nose
自 originally depicted a human nose, shown frontally with the bridge and nostrils. Ancient Chinese pointed to their own nose to mean 'me,' so 自 shifted to mean 'self' or 'oneself.' A new character 鼻 was later created to carry the original 'nose' meaning.
立 — person standing on ground (大 over 一)
Pictograph of a person standing with arms outstretched on the ground line below. The original oracle bone form clearly shows a frontal human figure planted on the earth. The core meaning 'to stand' extended to 'establish, set up, erect.'