The kanji 序 generally conveys the idea of "beginning," "preface," "order," or "sequence." It signifies the initial part of something, the introduction, or the arrangement of things in a specific order. It can also imply a preliminary stage or a formal introduction.

・On-yomi (音読み): ジョ (jo) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ついで (tsuide) - This reading means "by the way", "incidentally", or "in addition to."

⚫︎ 序文 (じょぶん) Translation: Preface; introduction. ⚫︎ 序論 (じょろん) Translation: Introduction; preamble; exposition. ⚫︎ 序曲 (じょきょく) Translation: Overture.

The kanji 序 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is a radical called 广, which represents a house or dwelling. The right side is a character, 予, which provides the phonetic component and the original meaning of "to give" or "to grant." The combination of these parts creates the meaning of "beginning" or "introduction" as it suggests the starting point or setting of something, like the beginning of a story or the introduction to a house. It evolved to represent the beginning of a sequence or a formal introduction.