The kanji 鎖 primarily signifies "chain," "fetter," or "lock." It represents a series of interconnected links, implying constraint, connection, or a means of securing something. It can also figuratively represent something that binds or restricts.

・On-yomi (音読み): サ (sa) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): くさり (kusari)

⚫︎ 鎖 (kusari) Translation: chain ⚫︎ 南京錠と鎖 (nanjōjō to kusari) Translation: padlock and chain ⚫︎ 連鎖反応 (rensa hannō) Translation: chain reaction

The kanji 鎖 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The left side is a metal radical (金, kane, meaning "metal" or "gold"), indicating the character's association with metal objects. The right side is a phonetic component, 𤇾 (sa), which originally represented the sound of the character. Together, these components convey the meaning of a metal chain or lock.