The kanji character 醜 primarily conveys the meaning of ugliness, deformity, or being unsightly. It represents something that is considered aesthetically displeasing or morally flawed. It encompasses both physical and metaphorical ugliness.

・On-yomi (音読み): シュウ ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): みにく(い) (miniku(i))

⚫︎ 醜い顔 Translation: Ugly face. ⚫︎ 醜聞 (shūbun) Translation: Scandal; disgrace. ⚫︎ 醜悪 (shūaku) Translation: Ugly; hideous; vile.

The kanji 醜 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), which means it's a character formed by combining a semantic component (a part indicating meaning) and a phonetic component (a part indicating pronunciation). The semantic component is 酉 (sake vessel or related to alcohol), and the phonetic component is 鬼 (oni; demon/ogre). The meaning likely evolved from the idea of "ill-omened" or "defective," relating to something that’s not functioning correctly or aesthetically pleasing, such as a spoiled food item or a physically deformed person. Over time, the meaning of ugliness or being unsightly became the primary association.