The kanji 抱 primarily conveys the meaning of "to hold," "to embrace," or "to carry." It implies physically holding something or someone close, often with affection or care. It can also extend to metaphorical meanings, such as "to take on" or "to harbor" (e.g., feelings).

・On-yomi (音読み): ホウ (hō) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): 抱（だ）く (daku), 抱（かか）える (kakaeru)

⚫︎ 子供（こども）を抱（だ）く Translation: To hold a child. ⚫︎ 不安（ふあん）を抱（かか）える Translation: To harbor anxiety. ⚫︎ 抱擁（ほうよう） Translation: Embrace.

The kanji 抱 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound. The semantic component is 手（て）(te), meaning "hand," and the phonetic component is 包（ほう）(hō), which suggests the sound and originally related to wrapping or covering. Therefore, 抱is constructed to mean to use the hands to hold or embrace something.