The kanji 装 primarily conveys the idea of "to dress," "to equip," "to adorn," or "to pretend." It implies the act of adding something to enhance appearance, function, or purpose. This can range from clothing and accessories to preparation and presentation.

・On-yomi (音読み): ソウ (sō) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): よそお（う） (yosoō (u))

⚫︎ 服装 (ふくそう) Translation: Clothing; attire ⚫︎ 衣装 (いしょう) Translation: Costume; outfit; dress ⚫︎ 装備 (そうび) Translation: Equipment; to equip

The kanji 装 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound. The left side, 衤, is the radical (部首, bushu) and represents "clothing". The right side, 㚒, serves as the phonetic component, indicating the sound and suggesting the related meaning. The combination of the radical and phonetic component gives the meaning "to put on clothing" or, more broadly, "to adorn" or "to equip".