青春
せいしゅん · seishun · JLPT N1 · noun
young person
🌱 青 (young, green) + 春 (spring) = the green spring of life: youth
青 means young or unripe green, as in young fruit. 春 means spring, the season of new growth. Together they name the green springtime of a human life, the adolescent years.
青 — 生 (growth/sprout) on top + 丹 (well/cinnabar) below
青 originally depicted young plants (生) growing above a mineral pit (丹, cinnabar well), suggesting the fresh blue-green color of new growth and natural pigments. Over time it came to cover a range of cool colors—green, blue, and even black—and by extension means 'young' or 'youthful.'