The kanji 啄 primarily means "to peck," referring to the action of a bird using its beak to strike or pick at something. It also extends to the idea of lightly tapping or pecking at something.

・On-yomi (音読み): ・taku (タク) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ・tsu啄ku (つつく)

⚫︎木啄 (ki啄) Translation: woodpecker ⚫︎啄木鳥 (kitsuibishi) Translation: woodpecker (same as the first example, but more formal) ⚫︎啄む (tsu啄mu) Translation: to peck (verb form)

The kanji 啄 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). It combines the phonetic component 彖 (taku, meaning "a pig with short tail") with the mouth radical 口 (kuchi, meaning "mouth"). The combination suggests the action of a beak (represented by the mouth radical) pecking or tapping, giving the kanji its meaning of "to peck." The phonetic element hints at the sound.