The kanji 球 primarily signifies a "sphere," "ball," or "globe." It represents something round or spherical in shape. This can be a physical object like a ball used in sports, or it can also be used figuratively to describe something with a rounded or complete form, like a celestial body.

・On-yomi (音読み): キュウ (kyuu) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): たま (tama)

⚫︎ 野球 Translation: Baseball ⚫︎ 地球 Translation: Earth (the globe) ⚫︎ 電球 Translation: Light bulb

The kanji 球 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). It combines two parts: ⚫︎ The left radical is 王 (ō, "king" or "jade"). In this context, it suggests something precious or valuable because jade was highly valued. ⚫︎ The right side is 求 (kyuu, "to seek," or "to request,"). It gives the sound of the kanji and suggests the action of "searching for" or "finding" a round object. Together, the combination implies a valuable, round object, like a precious sphere or a ball. The character's form has evolved over time, but the core meaning of a spherical shape has remained constant.