The kanji 息 primarily means "breath," "respiration," or "to breathe." It relates to the act of inhaling and exhaling, and by extension, can also refer to things associated with breathing, such as rest or a break, and also in some figurative uses to indicate signs of something or a state.

・On-yomi (音読み): ソク (soku) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): いき (iki)

⚫︎ 呼吸 (kokyuu) Translation: Respiration, breathing ⚫︎ 休息 (kyuusoku) Translation: Rest, break ⚫︎ 息子 (musuko) Translation: Son (often used with the nuance of "one who continues the family line," suggesting a continuation or "breath" of the family)

The kanji 息 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The top part is 自 (ji), which originally depicted a nose and meant "self." The bottom part is 心 (kokoro), meaning "heart" or "mind." Combining them, the original form showed "self" and "heart" or "mind" in relation to respiration or one's inner being, which indicates the function of breathing. Through simplification and historical development, it evolved into the current form. The association with "breath" comes from the idea that the breath comes from within oneself and the heart.