The kanji 姿 generally conveys the meaning of "figure," "appearance," "form," or "shape." It refers to the visible aspect or outward presentation of something, including a person, object, or situation. It emphasizes the way something appears to the eye, focusing on its visual characteristics.

・On-yomi (音読み): シ (shi) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): 姿 (すがた - sugata)

⚫︎ 美しい姿 Translation: Beautiful appearance / beautiful form ⚫︎ 彼女の姿が消えた Translation: Her figure disappeared. ⚫︎ 姿勢 Translation: Situation; condition; posture

The kanji 姿 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound. The left side is 女 (onna), meaning "woman". The right side is 次, which is the phonetic component indicating the pronunciation. Therefore, the kanji originally depicts the posture of a woman. Over time, the meaning broadened to encompass the general "appearance" or "form" of anything.