The kanji 霧 primarily means "fog" or "mist." It refers to the atmospheric condition where tiny water droplets are suspended in the air, reducing visibility. This core meaning extends to anything that obscures or clouds vision, both literally and figuratively.

・On-yomi (音読み): ・ム (mu) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ・霧 (kiri)

⚫︎ 霧雨 Translation: drizzle, mist ⚫︎ 濃霧 Translation: dense fog, thick fog ⚫︎ 霧が晴れる Translation: The fog clears; The mist lifts

The kanji 霧 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). It combines the semantic component 雨 (あめ, "rain") with the phonetic component 務 (む, pronounced "mu," which also contributes the meaning of "to serve," "to be devoted"). The rain radical signifies the element of water and moisture, and the combination creates the image of a precipitation or presence of moisture (in the form of fog or mist) that obscures sight. Therefore, 雨 indicates the meaning, and 務 suggests the sound and adds additional nuance about the process.