The kanji 吸 fundamentally means "to suck," "to inhale," or "to absorb." It encompasses the action of drawing something in, whether it's air, liquid, or something else. This action can be either literal (like breathing) or figurative (like absorbing information).

・On-yomi (音読み): キュウ (kyuu) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): す(う) (su(u))

⚫︎ 呼吸 (kokyuu) Translation: Respiration, breathing ⚫︎ 吸入 (kyuuin) Translation: Inhalation, aspiration ⚫︎ 吸水性 (kyuusui-sei) Translation: Absorbency, water-absorbing property

The kanji 吸 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). It combines two parts: ⚫︎ The radical 口 (kuchi), meaning "mouth." This indicates the action is related to the mouth or opening. ⚫︎ The phonetic component 及 (kyuu), which contributes the sound and hints at the meaning of "reaching" or "extending to." The combination suggests the action of using the mouth to draw something in or "reach" for it.