The kanji character 斜 generally conveys the meaning of "slanting," "oblique," "diagonal," or "inclined." It describes a position or direction that is not perfectly vertical or horizontal. It can also imply something is crooked or not straight.

・On-yomi (音読み): シャ (sha) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): なな (nana - as in ななめ, slanting)

⚫︎ 斜め Translation: slanting; diagonal; oblique ⚫︎ 傾斜 (けいしゃ) Translation: inclination; slope; slant ⚫︎ 斜線 (しゃせん) Translation: oblique line; diagonal line; hatching

The kanji 斜 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). ⚫︎ The left side is a radical called 人 (にんべん), which represents "person." ⚫︎ The right side is 余 which acts as the phonetic component, indicating the pronunciation and having the meaning of "surplus," "remainder." ⚫︎ The original meaning of 斜was likely related to something leaning or tilting over, thus reflecting the idea of being slightly "extra" or "beyond" the expected vertical.