The kanji 書 means "to write," "to record," or "writing." It encompasses the act of creating written material, as well as the written materials themselves, such as books, documents, or letters. It implies the preservation of information in a tangible form.

・On-yomi (音読み): ショ (sho) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): かく (kaku)

⚫︎図書館 (としょかん) Translation: Library ⚫︎読書 (どくしょ) Translation: Reading ⚫︎辞書 (じしょ) Translation: Dictionary

The kanji 書 is a pictophonetic character. The top part represents a hand holding a brush. The lower part is derived from the character 者, which originally represented a person. Therefore, 書originally depicted a person 者 with a hand holding a brush, in the act of writing. Over time, the meaning evolved to represent the broader concept of writing and written materials.