定

Phono-semantic compound (形聲字):

宀 (집 면) – (meaning) represents a roof or house, symbolizing a place of stability;

正 (바를 정) – (phonetic) provides the sound “정.”

Originally, the character carried the sense of “making something stable and fixed within a space (house)”, which naturally expanded to “to settle,” “to decide.”

It’s a core character in Korean, Chinese, and Japanese for decisions, settings, and establishing rules.

It’s widely used in words like:

決定 (결정) – decision;

設定 (설정) – setting, configuration;

安定 (안정) – stability.