The kanji 済 generally conveys the meaning of completion, finishing, or settling something. It implies a sense of having brought something to a successful conclusion or resolving a matter. It often suggests that a task is done, a debt is paid, or a process is over.

・On-yomi (音読み): サイ (sai) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): す（む） (su(mu)) – to finish, to end; すま（す） (suma(su)) – to settle, to complete, to get by

⚫︎ 経済 (けいざい) Translation: Economy, economics ⚫︎ 返済 (へんさい) Translation: Repayment, paying back ⚫︎ 済ませる (すませる) Translation: To finish, to complete, to get something over with

The kanji 済 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字 けいせいもじ). The semantic component is 水 (water), and the phonetic component is 斉 (sei), which means "uniform" or "equal." The original meaning of 済 was related to water and crossing a river, implying that something is "passed through" or "completed." Over time, the meaning expanded to encompass the idea of completion and settlement in a broader sense.