The kanji 長 primarily conveys the idea of "long," "length," "leader," or "chief." It encompasses concepts related to duration, extent, or authority. It can refer to both physical length and also abstract qualities like seniority or the head of a group.

・On-yomi (音読み): ちょう (chou) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): なが.い (naga.i)

⚫︎ 長い Translation: Long, lengthy ⚫︎ 社長（しゃちょう） Translation: Company president ⚫︎ 成長（せいちょう） Translation: Growth, development

The kanji 長 is a pictograph. It depicts a person with long hair. The long hair symbolized "old age" or "seniority," which then extended to mean "leader" or "chief." Over time, the character evolved to also represent "long" in terms of physical length or duration.