言付け
ことづけ · kotoduke · JLPT N1 · noun
message
📨 言付け = 言 (word, say) + 付け (attach, hand over): attach your words to someone to carry
Kotoduke is a message handed to someone to deliver, from 言 (koto, words) and 付ける (tsukeru, to attach or entrust). You attach your words to a person who will pass them on.
付 — person radical 亻 + hand 寸
付 originally pictured a hand (寸) reaching out to hand something to a person (亻), depicting the act of giving or delivering. The core sense 'to hand over, deliver, pay' has remained stable since ancient bronze inscriptions. It also serves as a phonetic component in characters like 附, 符, and 府.