The kanji character 給 primarily conveys the meaning of "to give," "to supply," "to provide," or "allowance." It suggests a transaction or distribution of something, often resources like money, food, or other necessities. It implies a transfer from one entity to another.

・On-yomi (音読み): キュウ (kyū) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): たま（う） (tama(u))

⚫︎給料 (kyūryō) Translation: Salary, pay ⚫︎支給 (shikyū) Translation: Provision, supply ⚫︎給食 (kyūshoku) Translation: School lunch, providing meals

The kanji 給 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound. It combines two components: ⚫︎The left side is 糸 (ito), meaning "thread" or "silk", but it acts as a semantic component here. ⚫︎The right side is 合 (gō), which is the phonetic component, indicating the sound and contributing the meaning of "to combine" or "to fit". Originally, 給depicted the act of giving out or distributing things, like the way thread is given out or measured. The meaning evolved to encompass the general concept of supplying or providing.