The kanji 杯杯 primarily means "cup," "goblet," or "a drink in a cup." It refers to a vessel, often made of glass or ceramic, used for drinking. The character's core meaning revolves around the concept of a container used to hold and serve beverages. It can also imply the act of drinking or the contents of the cup itself.

・On-yomi (音読み): はい (hai) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): さかずき (sakazuki) - meaning "sake cup" or "ceremonial cup."

⚫︎乾杯 (かんぱい) Translation: Cheers! (literally: "dry cup") ⚫︎一杯 (いっぱい) Translation: One cup/glass (of a drink). "A serving" ⚫︎お酒を一杯飲む (おさけをいっぱいのむ) Translation: To drink a cup of sake/alcohol.

The kanji 杯杯 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The left side (月 or sometimes 木) acts as the semantic component, indicating that the character is related to a container (the shape of the container can be compared to the shape of the moon or the wood). The right side (不) is the phonetic component, indicating the pronunciation and a sense of "not". Initially, it might have suggested a cup that is "not full" or a cup that you "cannot refuse". Over time, it developed the meaning of "cup" or "goblet". The meaning "not" is not carried over.