The kanji 今 primarily represents "now," "the present," or "this." It signifies the current moment in time. It's a fundamental concept used to describe the present, in contrast to the past or future.

・On-yomi (音読み): コン (kon) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): いま (ima)

⚫︎今日（きょう） Translation: Today ⚫︎今週（こんしゅう） Translation: This week ⚫︎今（今）晩（こんばん） Translation: Tonight

The kanji 今 is a pictograph. It originally depicted a mouth or opening 口 (kuchi) at the top, and a cross-like shape below. The cross-like shape represents the present, the moment that intersects both the past and the future. The symbol as a whole represents breath that is exhaled at present, and the present moment in time. Over time, the shape has become simplified into what we recognize today.