親善
しんぜん · shinzen · JLPT N1 · noun
friendship
🤝 親 = close + 善 = good: close and good ties make friendship
親 (shin) means parent or close, and 善 (zen) means good or kind. Together they describe warm, kind closeness between people.
善 — sheep 羊 over 言 (speech), simplified to 善
Originally written with 羊 (sheep, auspicious) above two 言 (speech) elements, depicting auspicious or kind words. The form was simplified to one mouth-like base under 羊. The meaning shifted from 'auspicious speech' to the broader senses 'good, virtuous, skilled at.'