The kanji character 声 means "voice" or "sound". It refers to the sound produced by humans or animals, as well as general sounds or noises. It encompasses both the act of producing sound and the resulting sound itself.

・On-yomi (音読み): セイ (Sei) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): こえ (koe)

⚫︎声が大きい Translation: Has a loud voice. ⚫︎声が聞こえる Translation: I can hear a voice/sound. ⚫︎歌声 Translation: Singing voice.

The kanji 声 is a pictophonetic character, meaning it combines a semantic component (meaning) with a phonetic component (sound). The upper part represents a hand or a mouth, indicating the act of speaking or producing sound. The lower part is a simplified version of the character 耳(ear), suggesting the sound being received by the ear. Thus, the character visually links the act of producing a sound (speaking) with the reception of a sound (hearing).