落葉
おちば · ochiba · JLPT N1 · noun
leave
🍂 落葉 = 落 (fall, drop) + 葉 (leaf): leaves that have fallen off the tree
落 means to fall or drop, and 葉 means leaf. Together they name leaves that have already come down from the tree, which is why おちば sounds like 'oh, chop-leaf' to many learners.
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.