The kanji 萌 represents the idea of sprouting, budding, or the beginning of growth, especially in plants. It conveys a sense of emerging, something new coming to life, and the early stages of development. It often implies a feeling of freshness, tenderness, and vitality.

・On-yomi (音読み): Mō (モウ) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): 萌（め） - 萌（め） is also used as a verb 萌（きざ） - to sprout; to bud

⚫︎ 萌芽（ほうが） Translation: Sprout; bud; germination; beginning. ⚫︎ 萌える（もえる） Translation: To sprout; to bud; to come into existence; to feel affection for something, to be passionate about something. ⚫︎ 萌えキャラ Translation: Moe character (a character in anime, manga, or games that evokes feelings of affection, cuteness, or protectiveness).

The kanji 萌 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The semantic (meaning) component is the "grass" radical (艸, 艹), indicating plants or vegetation. The phonetic (sound) component is 朋 (hou), which originally signified "to be friends, to be companions" but is borrowed here for its sound (Mō). The combination visually suggests grass 草（くさ） beginning to sprout.