The kanji 故 primarily conveys the idea of "reason," "circumstance," or "cause." It can also signify "the deceased" or "former." It often implies a past event or a reason behind something.

・On-yomi (音読み): コ (ko) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ゆえ (yue)

⚫︎ 事故 (jiko) Translation: Accident ⚫︎ 故郷 (kokyou) Translation: Hometown; birthplace ⚫︎ 故に (yueni) Translation: Therefore; because of; consequently

The kanji 故 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The left side is the radical 文 (bun), meaning "pattern" or "writing." The right side is 古 (ko), meaning "old" or "past." The combination of these parts suggests something that is explained or stated as in a pattern from the past. Over time, it came to represent "reason" or "cause" because it explains why something happened.