The kanji 滴 primarily conveys the core meaning of "a drop" or "to drip." It represents a small quantity of liquid falling, often one individual instance, and can also extend to the action of liquid slowly coming out.

・On-yomi (音読み): teki (テキ) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): shizuku (しずく), tareru (たれる)

⚫︎水滴 Translation: a drop of water ⚫︎涙が滴る Translation: Tears are dripping. ⚫︎雨滴 Translation: raindrops

The kanji 滴 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The semantic component is 水 (みず, water), indicating the connection to liquids. The phonetic component is 啇 (shō), which contributes the sound element and hints at the action of dripping or falling. The character evolved over time, combining these elements to visually represent the concept of a drop of liquid.