The kanji 浴 primarily means "to bathe," "to take a bath," or "to immerse." It signifies the act of washing oneself or being immersed in water, and by extension, can also mean to be exposed to something or to be drenched in it. It conveys the idea of cleansing or being covered by something, like liquid.

・On-yomi (音読み): ヨク (yoku) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): あ（び）る (a(bi)ru)

⚫︎ 入浴 (nyuuyoku) Translation: Taking a bath; bathing. ⚫︎ 水浴 (suiyoku) Translation: Bathing in water; swimming. ⚫︎ 浴びる (a(bi)ru) Translation: To bathe; to shower; to be exposed to (sunlight, etc.)

The kanji 浴 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). It combines the water radical 氵 (also written as 水, meaning "water") with the phonetic component 谷 (yoku), which originally depicted a valley. The combination implies immersing oneself in water, similar to how one might be in a valley. The water radical 氵 provides the semantic element of water, while 谷 contributes to the sound and suggests the context of bathing or being immersed. Over time, the character evolved to its current form, consistently representing the act of bathing or being exposed to something.