The kanji 借 primarily conveys the idea of "to borrow" or "to lend." It represents the temporary use of something that belongs to someone else, with the expectation of returning it. This includes the concepts of debt, owing, and requesting the use of something.

・On-yomi (音読み): シャク (shaku) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): か（り）る (kariru) - to borrow; か（す） (kasu) - to lend

⚫︎ 借金 Translation: Debt; loan ⚫︎ 借ります Translation: I will borrow. ⚫︎ 貸借 Translation: Lending and borrowing

The kanji 借 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). It combines the phonetic component 昔 (seki - meaning "past" or "old") with the meaning component 人 (hito - "person") and 手 (te - "hand"). The component 昔 is used here for its sound rather than its meaning, providing the sound シャク (shaku). The 人 and 手 components contribute to the meaning, representing the action of taking something from someone else, a human action. The original meaning evolved to reflect the idea of borrowing and lending.