The kanji 尚 primarily conveys the ideas of "still," "yet," "furthermore," "esteem," "venerate," or "to value." It suggests something that continues, is valued, or is elevated in some way. The meaning often implies something that is ongoing or that persists, either in a temporal sense or in terms of value and importance.

・On-yomi (音読み): ショウ (shō) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): なお (nao)

⚫︎なお、よろしくお願いいたします Translation: Furthermore, I look forward to working with you. (Common polite closing) ⚫︎尚早（しょうそう） Translation: Premature; too early. ⚫︎高尚（こうしょう） Translation: Noble; high-minded; refined.

The kanji 尚 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). The semantic component is likely the radical of 小, meaning "small," and the phonetic component is also 小 or ハ (meaning "over"). Thus, the original meaning of 尚 likely contained the implication of "adding" or "furthering," evolving into meanings such as "still" or "furthermore." The top part, originally represented a "roof", which evolved to mean high, and the bottom, ハ, which may have been a person raising up their hand, meaning to value. This composition, therefore, reflects the development from a smaller, less important state to a larger, more valued one, linking to the meanings of value and continuation.