The kanji 招 (shou) primarily conveys the meaning of "to beckon," "to invite," "to summon," or "to attract." It implies the action of calling someone or something towards oneself or a specific place, often with a gesture or intention of welcoming or drawing them in. This can extend to attracting attention or causing something to happen.

・On-yomi (音読み): ショウ (shou) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): まね（く） (mane(ku))

⚫︎招待（しょうたい） Translation: Invitation ⚫︎招き猫（まねきねこ） Translation: Beckoning cat (lucky cat) ⚫︎招集（しょうしゅう） Translation: Summoning; calling up (e.g., for a meeting or military service)

The kanji 招 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), which means it's a character formed by combining a semantic (meaning) component and a phonetic (sound) component. The left side of 招 is a hand radical (扌), which represents the action of the hand. The right side is 召 (shou) - This part provides the sound and originally had the meaning related to "to call" or "to summon". The combination of the hand radical and 召 suggests the act of using a hand to call or invite someone. It evolved over time to encompass the broader meanings of beckoning, inviting, and attracting.