The kanji 裏 primarily conveys the meaning of "back," "reverse," "inside," or "behind." It often implies something that is hidden, not visible, or the opposite side of something. It can relate to the physical back of an object, the hidden motivations behind actions, or the less obvious aspects of a situation.

・On-yomi (音読み): リ (ri) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): うら (ura)

⚫︎ 裏側 Translation: The back side; the reverse; the inside. ⚫︎ 裏切る (uragiru) Translation: To betray. ⚫︎ 裏口 Translation: Back door; back entrance.

The kanji 裏 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound. The character is composed of the following: - 𧘇 (衣, meaning "clothing") acting as the semantic component. - 里 (里, meaning "village" or "unit of distance") acting as the phonetic component, suggesting the sound and perhaps the idea of “inside”. The original meaning was related to the lining or the inside of clothing, thus "back" or "inside" of something. The character then broadened to encompass the various meanings related to the "back" or "reverse" aspects of things.