花びら

はなびら · hanabira · JLPT N1 · noun

petal

🌸 花 (flower) + びら (leaf-like blade): the thin blade-shaped part of a flower, i.e. a petal

はなびら is 花 (hana, flower) plus びら, a word for a thin flat piece, like 'ひらひら' fluttering. A flower's flat fluttering piece is a petal.

花 — grass radical 艹 + 化 (change/phonetic)
花 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The top 艹 (grass) signals the plant meaning, while 化 ('change, transform') gives the sound and hints at how buds change into blossoms. It originally meant 'flower' or 'blossom' and later extended to 'flowery, patterned, to spend.'

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