The kanji 隅 (すみ) fundamentally represents a "corner" or "nook," an area where two surfaces meet. It implies a place that is out of the main flow, a secluded or hidden spot. It can also refer to the edges or borders of something.

・On-yomi (音読み): グウ (guu) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): 隅 (すみ - sumi)

⚫︎ 部屋の隅 Translation: The corner of the room. ⚫︎ 隅から隅まで掃除する Translation: To clean from corner to corner. ⚫︎ 街の隅にある小さな店 Translation: A small shop in a corner of the town.

The kanji 隅 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). It combines the radical 阝 (こざとへん - kozatohen), which relates to "place" or "hill," with the phonetic component 禺 (guu), which originally depicted a type of monkey or ape. The phonetic component provides the sound, while the radical provides a general indication of meaning relating to location. Over time, the meaning shifted from a specific animal and place to indicate the corner or edge of a space.