The kanji 彼 primarily means "he," "him," "that," or "that person." It refers to someone or something that is distant from the speaker or the listener. It can also indicate "boyfriend," depending on the context. The core meaning is related to a person who is not present or who is separate from the speaker or the audience.

・On-yomi (音読み): hi ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): are

⚫︎ 彼は学生です。 Translation: He is a student. ⚫︎ 彼の車は赤い。 Translation: His car is red. ⚫︎ 彼氏と映画を見に行った。 Translation: I went to see a movie with my boyfriend.

The kanji 彼 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). The semantic component is 彳 (ぎょうにんべん), which represents "a step" or "to walk," suggesting movement or distance. The phonetic component is 皮 (かわ), which represents the sound "hi" and contributes to the pronunciation. Therefore, the character's formation visually emphasizes the idea of someone or something being at a distance.