The kanji 殺 primarily conveys the core meaning of "to kill," "to murder," or "to slay." It denotes the act of taking a life, either human or animal, intentionally or unintentionally. This core meaning extends to related concepts like destruction, damage, and sometimes, even intense suffering or hardship.

・On-yomi (音読み): ・Satsu (さつ) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ・Korosu (ころす)

⚫︎殺人 (さつじん) Translation: Murder, homicide ⚫︎殺す (ころす) Translation: To kill ⚫︎殺到 (さっとう) Translation: Rush, influx (can also mean to be bombarded or overwhelmed, metaphorically)

The kanji 殺 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound character. It is composed of the semantic component "木" (ki, meaning "tree" or "wood") and the phonetic component "殺" (satsu). The original form of the character depicted a person being struck with a weapon near a tree. Over time, the depiction of the weapon and the tree was simplified, and the character evolved to represent the act of killing. The phonetic component, "殺", provides the sound, while the visual elements hint at the meaning. It is said that in ancient times, the "tree" component may have symbolized the place where the killing took place or where the body was placed. This visual element also serves to create a graphic association with the killing.