The kanji 味 primarily conveys the meaning of "taste," "flavor," or "savor." It relates to the sensory experience of the tongue and the ability to perceive different flavors. It also extends to the figurative sense of "feeling" or "experience."

・On-yomi (音読み): ミ (mi) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): あじ (aji)

⚫︎ 味 (aji) Translation: taste; flavor ⚫︎ 趣味 (shumi) Translation: hobby; taste; interest ⚫︎ 意味 (imi) Translation: meaning; significance; sense

The kanji 味 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). It combines the radical 口 (くち, kuchi - mouth) with the phonetic component 未 (み, mi). The radical 口 indicates the connection to the mouth and eating. The component 未, which originally represented a tree branch, provides the sound and possibly contributes to the idea of something that is not yet fully developed, reflecting the incomplete nature of tasting something before it is fully savored.