The kanji 窃 primarily means "to steal," "theft," or "secretly." It implies taking something without permission and often suggests a clandestine or surreptitious action.

・On-yomi (音読み): Setsu (セツ) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): nusumu (ぬす-む)

⚫︎ 窃盗（せっとう） Translation: theft; larceny; robbery ⚫︎ 窃取（せっしゅ） Translation: theft; stealing ⚫︎ 窃に（ひそかに） Translation: secretly; privately

The kanji 窃 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), which is a compound ideogram that combines a phonetic component and a semantic component. The left side is the radical of 穴 (ana, meaning "hole" or "cave"), and the right side is a phonetic component, 㕣 (tan), which suggests the sound of "setsu". The radical 穴 (ana) is related to "secretly", suggesting that something is hidden or taken secretly. This combination implies something hidden away and taken furtively. Over time, the character evolved to its current form, retaining the meaning of theft or something done in secret.