The kanji 勉 primarily conveys the idea of effort, diligence, striving, and application. It suggests putting in work, making an attempt, or exerting oneself to achieve a goal. It often implies a sustained effort rather than a one-time action.

・On-yomi (音読み): ベン (ben) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): つと（める） (tsuto(meru))

⚫︎ 勉強 (べんきょう) Translation: Study; to study. ⚫︎ 勉学 (べんがく) Translation: Studying; pursuit of knowledge. ⚫︎ 努力 (どりょく) Translation: Effort; endeavor; hard work.

The kanji 勉 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字; keisei moji). The left side is formed by the radical 力 (ちから, chikara), meaning "power" or "strength". The right side is formed by 免 (めん, men), which originally depicted a person wearing a mask or something that covered the face. The combination suggests "exerting the strength to avoid something" or "to make an effort to overcome something." Over time, the meaning evolved to more generally mean effort and diligence.