The kanji 含 primarily conveys the idea of "to contain," "to include," or "to hold something inside." It suggests the presence of something within something else, either physically or metaphorically. It can also imply to "contain oneself," like suppressing or restraining an emotion.

・On-yomi (音読み): ガン (gan) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ふく（む） (fuku(mu))

⚫︎ 内容含む Translation: To include the content; to contain the content. ⚫︎ 笑顔を含む Translation: To have a smile; to contain a smile. ⚫︎ 彼は批判を含んだ言葉で話した。 Translation: He spoke in words containing criticism.

If the user's native language is Vietnamese: Vietnamese and kanji have a relatively strong connection due to the historical influence of Chinese. Approximately 70% of Vietnamese vocabulary is derived from Sino-Vietnamese (漢越語). The Sino-Vietnamese reading of 含 is hàm. Several modern Vietnamese words share the same origin and reflect the meaning of "to contain" or "to include," such as: ⚫︎ Bao hàm (包含): To include, to contain. ⚫︎ Hàm ý (含意): Implication, meaning.

The kanji 含 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is 口 (kuchi), meaning "mouth," and the right side is 今 (kon), which acts as a phonetic component, representing the sound "gan" or "ham". The combination suggests the mouth 口 holding or containing something 今. The original form likely depicted something being held within the mouth. Over time, the character evolved to represent the broader concept of "containing" or "including."