The kanji 肥 primarily signifies "fat," "fertile," or "to fertilize." It is related to concepts of abundance, richness, and the nourishment of the land or organisms. It often implies a positive connotation, referring to growth and prosperity. The core meaning revolves around the idea of something being plump, well-nourished, or contributing to growth.

・On-yomi (音読み): ヒ (hi) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): こえ (koe), こ-える (ko-eru)

⚫︎肥料 Translation: fertilizer ⚫︎肥満 Translation: obesity, fatness ⚫︎肥沃な土地 Translation: fertile land

The kanji 肥 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound. The left side is 月 (tsuki/getsu), which depicts flesh or meat, and the right side is 巴 (ha), which originally depicted a type of agricultural tool. Together, they suggest something that makes flesh plump and fertile, hence the meaning "fat" or "fertile." Over time, the character evolved to also encompass the idea of enriching the soil.