The kanji 句 primarily refers to a "phrase," "clause," "sentence," or "verse." It represents a unit of language, typically a short segment of written or spoken expression that conveys a complete thought or idea. It can also refer to a specific type of short poem, such as a 俳句 (俳句).

・On-yomi (音読み): ク (ku) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): None, as the meaning is primarily associated with the Chinese reading.

⚫︎俳句 (haiku) Translation: haiku (a type of Japanese poem) ⚫︎名句 (meiku) Translation: famous phrase; good phrase ⚫︎文句 (bunkū) Translation: phrase; wording

The kanji 句 is a phonetic-semantic compound. The phonetic component is 口 (kuchi), meaning "mouth," which provides the sound of the character, and the semantic component is also 口, which indicates the connection with speech and the formation of expressions. It therefore represents the "mouth" shaping a "phrase" or a "sentence." The character evolved from pictographic representations of the mouth and the words coming out of it.