The kanji 渉 primarily conveys the idea of "to cross," "to ford," "to involve," or "to be concerned with." It suggests moving across something, whether literally (like a river) or figuratively (like a matter or subject). It also implies participation or involvement.

・On-yomi (音読み): ショウ (shou) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): わた（る） (wata(ru)) - to cross, to ford

⚫︎ 交渉（こうしょう） Translation: Negotiation, discussion ⚫︎ 渉外（しょうがい） Translation: External affairs, dealing with the outside ⚫︎ 干渉（かんしょう） Translation: Interference, intervention

The kanji 渉 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字; keisei moji). The right side of the character is 步 (歩) which means "step" or "walk." The left side of the character is 水 (氵), which means "water". It suggests the act of walking across or through water, hence the meaning of "to cross" or "to ford." The character's evolution reflects the idea of taking steps across a body of water or some sort of boundary.