The kanji 孟 primarily conveys the meaning of "beginning," "first," or "eldest." It often implies the firstborn son or the head of a family. It can also signify something that is chief or preeminent.

・On-yomi (音読み): もう (mou) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): None (no common Japanese native reading)

⚫︎孟春 (moushun) Translation: The first month of spring. ⚫︎孟浩然 (Mōkōran) Translation: The name of a famous Tang dynasty poet. ⚫︎孟母三遷 (Mōbo Sansen) Translation: Mencius's mother moved three times (a well-known Chinese idiom about the importance of environment).

The kanji 孟 is a pictophonetic compound. The top portion is formed from 目 (me) meaning "eye" or "to see." The bottom portion is 子 (ko) meaning "child." Originally, it represented a person who was the firstborn child of the family and thus the one who was watched over or observed. Over time, it came to mean "eldest" or "beginning," implying the first in a series.