The kanji character 断 primarily conveys the meaning of "to cut," "to sever," "to refuse," or "to decide." It implies a decisive action of separating something or making a firm choice. It can refer to physical cutting, like severing a rope, or abstract actions, such as refusing a request or making a decision.

・On-yomi (音読み): ダン (dan) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): たつ (tatsu)

⚫︎判断 (handan) Translation: judgment, decision ⚫︎断る (kotowaru) Translation: to refuse, to decline ⚫︎中断 (chūdan) Translation: interruption, suspension

The kanji 断 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound. The left side is a radical related to a blade (specifically, the 斤部 (きんぶ)), indicating a tool for cutting. The right side is a phonetic component that suggests the sound and perhaps the meaning associated with it in ancient Chinese. The combination of the radical and phonetic component creates the meaning of "to cut" or "to sever."