The kanji 潮 generally represents the "tide," referring to the periodic rise and fall of ocean water caused by the gravitational forces of the moon and sun. It can also refer to the currents or flow of water, and by extension, can be used metaphorically to express a "trend" or "flow" of something. It is closely connected to the sea and the movement of water.

・On-yomi (音読み): チョウ (chou) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): うしお (ushio)

⚫︎干潮 Translation: Low tide (Ebb tide) ⚫︎満潮 Translation: High tide (Flood tide) ⚫︎潮流 Translation: Tidal current

The kanji 潮 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is the water radical, 氵 (also written as 水), indicating its connection to water. The right side is the phonetic component 朝, which originally represented the morning (and also the sound “chou”). The combination suggests the water’s movement, particularly as the water comes and goes like the rising and falling morning sun, emphasizing its cyclical pattern and association with the tides.