カン, まさ

goodwill, article, section, friendship, collusion

JLPT1 G7 S12 F1854

The left-hand element is a variant of , which is tree/wood + altar/the supernatural → press a knife to carve characters into offerings made of soft wood from a Chinese apple tree. is as per # (cavity) + the left-hand element to suggest a block on which characters were carved → carve characters into a block by scooping out wood (creating cavities) → engrave; engraved characters. *Amity*, *clause* and *sincerity* are borrowed meanings.

[Full Kanji Etymology List]