The kanji 昆 primarily conveys the meaning of "insects" or "worms." It often refers to a group of insects or the general concept of crawling creatures.

・On-yomi (音読み): コン ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): None, or rarely used in isolation.

⚫︎ 昆虫 (こんちゅう) Translation: insect ⚫︎ 昆布 (こんぶ) Translation: kelp (though the origin of this usage is debated; some theories link it to a kind of seaweed that resembles insects) ⚫︎ 昆明 (こんめい) Translation: Kunming (a city in China)

The kanji 昆 is a pictograph. The original form of the character depicted a cluster or a group of insects. This reflects its core meaning of "insects." Over time, the character evolved to its current form, retaining the visual representation of multiple insects.