The kanji 懸 primarily conveys the idea of "to hang," "to suspend," "to be suspended," "to be dependent on," or "to be at stake." It implies a state of being held or positioned in a raised or elevated position, often attached to something else, or a state of reliance or risk.

・On-yomi (音読み): ・ケン 懸 (ken) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ・か（ける） 懸 (ka(keru)) - to hang, to suspend, to bet ・か（かる） 懸 (ka(karu)) - to be hung, to be suspended, to be at stake

⚫︎懸垂（けんすい） Translation: Hanging; Suspension (especially in physical exercises like pull-ups). ⚫︎懸命（けんめい） Translation: Earnestness; diligence; great effort (literally "hanging life," implying to risk one's life). ⚫︎懸賞（けんしょう） Translation: Prize; offering a reward (literally "hanging reward," implying a reward is offered).

The kanji 懸 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). It is comprised of two parts: ・The semantic component (意符, ifu) is the "head" part, meaning to be hung or suspended. ・The phonetic component (音符, onpu) provides the sound. Over time, this character has evolved to represent the actions and states of hanging or being suspended, with the addition of metaphorical extensions to include concepts such as dependence and risk.