The kanji 射 (射) primarily conveys the meaning of "to shoot," "to fire," or "to launch" something, typically a projectile like an arrow. It suggests the action of projecting something with force towards a target. The concept extends to actions that are analogous to shooting, such as "to radiate" or "to emit," as well.

・On-yomi (音読み): シャ (sha) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): いる (iru)

⚫︎ 射撃 Translation: shooting; marksmanship ⚫︎ 放射線 Translation: radiation ⚫︎ 発射する Translation: to launch; to fire

The kanji 射 (射) is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The left part is 弓 (yumi), which means "bow." The right part is 身 (mi), meaning "body." This structure suggests a bow and the action of a body (specifically a person) using the bow to shoot. Originally, it depicted an arrow being released from a bow.