The kanji 抽 generally conveys the idea of "drawing out," "extracting," or "selecting." It implies taking something from a larger group or context and bringing it to the forefront, or removing it entirely. This can relate to both physical actions and more abstract concepts like selection or extraction.

・On-yomi (音読み): チュウ (chū) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ぬ (nu) as in 抜き出す ("to extract")

⚫︎ 抽出 (ちゅうしゅつ) Translation: Extraction; to extract; to draw out. ⚫︎ 抽選 (ちゅうせん) Translation: Lottery; drawing lots. ⚫︎ 抽斗 (ひきだし) Translation: Drawer (in a desk or cabinet).

The kanji 抽 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The left side is 月 (げつ, getsu), which is a component of the character and means "flesh, meat" and implies "body", also written as 肉 (にく, niku) "meat". The right side is 由 (ゆう, yū), which has the meaning of "reason, cause" or "origin". The original meaning of 抽 may have been related to drawing out something from the body, such as extracting an organ or taking something from the body. Over time, the meaning expanded to the broader concept of taking something out or selecting something.