The kanji 請 primarily conveys the meaning of "to ask," "to request," "to accept," or "to receive." It implies a formal or polite solicitation, a request for something to be done, or an acceptance of a duty or responsibility. It often involves a degree of obligation or commitment.

・On-yomi (音読み): セイ (sei) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): こ (ko - in the verb 請う)

⚫︎ 申請 (しんせい) Translation: Application, request ⚫︎ 依頼 (いらい) Translation: Request, commission ⚫︎ 承請 (しょうせい) Translation: Acceptance of a request

If the user's native language is Vietnamese: Vietnamese has a significant correspondence with kanji due to its historical influence. In fact, Vietnamese shares a high correspondence rate (approximately 70%) with kanji, primarily through Sino-Vietnamese (Hán Việt) vocabulary. The word 請 in Japanese has a direct correlation with the Vietnamese word "thỉnh" (pronounced as the kanji's Vietnamese reading). This word is also related to the meaning of "to invite, request". Here are examples of modern Vietnamese words derived from Sino-Vietnamese that share the same origin: ⚫︎ thỉnh cầu (to request) ⚫︎ thỉnh thị (to ask for instructions)

The kanji 請 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), or a phono-semantic compound. It is composed of two parts: 言 (gen/kotoba), meaning "speech" or "word", and 青 (sei/aoi), which acts as the phonetic component and gives a clue to the pronunciation. The use of 言 suggests the character's association with speech and making requests, while 青 indicates the sound. Therefore, the character's formation is the combination of a semantic component (relating to meaning) and a phonetic component (relating to sound).