The kanji 伐 primarily signifies "to fell," "to cut down," or "to attack." It implies forceful action, often involving the removal or destruction of something, whether it be a tree, an enemy, or an obstacle. It carries a sense of active intervention.

・On-yomi (音読み): バ (ba) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): き（る） (kiru)

⚫︎ 伐採（ばっさい） Translation: Lumbering; felling of trees. ⚫︎ 討伐（とうばつ） Translation: Subjugation; the act of attacking and defeating. ⚫︎ 自伐（じばつ） Translation: Self-felling; cutting down trees by oneself (as in forestry).

The kanji 伐 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), which means a character that combines a semantic (meaning) component and a phonetic (sound) component. The radical, or semantic component, is 人 (nin/hito), meaning "person." The phonetic component is 戈 (ka), which means "a halberd" or "a spear." The combination suggests the act of using a weapon (the halberd) to cut or attack something. This formation reflects the character's core meaning of forceful action.