The kanji 持 primarily conveys the idea of "to hold," "to possess," or "to have." It implies a state of keeping something in one's hand, controlling something, or owning something. It can also extend to mean "to support," "to maintain," or "to sustain" something, indicating an ongoing action or state.

・On-yomi (音読み): ⚫︎ ジ (ji) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ⚫︎ も持つ (motsu) – to hold, to have, to possess ⚫︎ たも持つ (tamotsu) – to keep, to maintain

⚫︎ お金を持っています。 Translation: I have money. ⚫︎ この本を持ってください。 Translation: Please hold this book. ⚫︎ 目標を持つことは大切です。 Translation: It is important to have a goal.

The kanji 持 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is a radical called 手 (て, te), meaning "hand," which indicates the meaning. The right side is 寺 (てら, tera), originally representing a place, but phonetically conveying the sound. Together, they suggest the action of holding or keeping something with one's hand.