The kanji 脹 primarily conveys the meaning of swelling, expansion, or inflation. It describes the state of something becoming enlarged, distended, or puffed up, often due to internal pressure or the accumulation of something. It can relate to physical swelling, like a swollen body part, or more figuratively to an increase or build-up of something.

・On-yomi (音読み): チョウ (chou) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ふく（らむ） (fuku(ramu)) - to swell, to bulge; は（れる） (hare(ru)) - to swell, to become puffy

⚫︎腹が脹れる。 Translation: My stomach swells. ⚫︎脹大する Translation: To expand; to swell; to enlarge ⚫︎浮脹 Translation: Edema (medical term for swelling caused by excess fluid)

The kanji 脹 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound. The phonetic component is 長 (chou/naga-i), meaning "long" or "grow." The semantic component is 月 (tsuki/niku), referring to "flesh" or "body." Together, these elements suggest "flesh that is growing long" or "flesh that is swelling." The addition of the "flesh" radical reinforces the meaning related to the body or physical swelling. The character likely originated to depict the expansion or enlargement of the body.