The kanji 然 primarily conveys the idea of "thus," "so," "like that," "in that way," or "natural." It often implies a state of being, a condition, or a way of doing something. It suggests a sense of accordance, conformity, or a resultant state. It can also indicate a state that is natural, as expected, or appropriate.

・On-yomi (音読み): ・ゼン (zen) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ・しか (shika) - 然し (shikashi) - however, but, nevertheless ・しかり (shikari) - so; in that way ・しかる (shikaru) - to be so; to be that way

⚫︎当然（とうぜん） Translation: naturally; of course; as a matter of course ⚫︎自然（しぜん） Translation: nature; natural ⚫︎全然（ぜんぜん） Translation: not at all; wholly; entirely (used with negatives)

The kanji 然 is a phono-semantic compound. The phonetic component is the character 犬 (inu, dog), which provides the sound element. The semantic component is 火 (hi, fire), which conveys the meaning of "burning" or "to be so." Combined, the character originally meant "burning like that" or "as if" and evolved to encompass meanings related to being so, thus, and natural occurrences. The original meaning is derived from the observation of how things naturally appear or happen, and how things burn. The 犬 element was later replaced by the 肉 (niku, meat) radical in some variations.