The kanji 討 primarily conveys the meaning of "to attack," "to punish," "to subdue," or "to defeat." It implies a forceful action directed against an opponent or target, often with the intention of overcoming or eliminating them. The meaning can extend to the act of investigating or examining something to uncover wrongdoing.

・On-yomi (音読み): ・ トウ (tō) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ・ う(つ) (u(tsu)) - to attack, to defeat

⚫︎ 討論 (とうろん) Translation: discussion; debate ⚫︎ 討伐 (とうばつ) Translation: subjugation; suppression; the act of subduing ⚫︎ 討議 (とうぎ) Translation: discussion; deliberation

The kanji 討 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound character. It is formed by combining the phonetic component 寸 (sun, meaning "inch" or "small measurement") and the radical 言 (gen, meaning "word" or "speech"). The phonetic component 寸 contributes the sound, and the radical indicates that the character is related to speech or actions related to discussing or judging. The combination gives a meaning that is related to using actions (like words) to defeat or eliminate an enemy.