The kanji 奨 primarily conveys the idea of "to encourage," "to promote," "to recommend," or "to praise." It implies a positive action of supporting or fostering something.

・On-yomi (音読み): ショウ (shou) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): None, because this character is not commonly used with a native Japanese reading.

⚫︎ 奨学金(しょうがくきん) Translation: Scholarship ⚫︎ 推奨(すいしょう) Translation: Recommendation; Promotion; Encouragement ⚫︎ 奨励(しょうれい) Translation: Encouragement; Incentive; Promotion

The kanji 奨 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is 部 (ぶ), which depicts a hand. The right side is 爿 (しょう), which means bed. The combination suggests the act of helping, supporting, or encouraging someone to rise up or achieve something. It represents helping someone by offering them a bed or support, and can be seen as a way of helping someone stand up and become successful. The meaning then evolved to "to encourage," "to promote," or "to recommend."