The kanji 側 primarily conveys the meaning of "side," "flank," or "nearby." It refers to a position or location adjacent to something else, or to a specific aspect or perspective. It implies a sense of proximity or being on the edge of something. It can also describe a person or thing that is associated with another.

・On-yomi (音読み): ソク (soku) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): がわ (gawa)

⚫︎右側 Translation: Right side ⚫︎彼の側にはいつも友達がいた。 Translation: He always had friends by his side. ⚫︎側面 Translation: Side; aspect

The kanji 側 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The semantic component is 人 (nin, hito), meaning "person," and the phonetic component is 則 (soku, のっと-る), which suggests sound and also conveys the meaning of “a rule”, "a pattern". The original meaning likely related to "being close to" or "following" something. Over time, the meaning shifted to describe “side” or "nearby." The combination of 人 and 則 suggested the idea of someone being "nearby" or "on the side" of another, in relation to a rule or pattern.