The kanji 汚 primarily represents the concept of 汚 meaning "dirt," "filth," "pollution," or "to become dirty." It signifies something that is unclean, contaminated, or morally tainted. This can relate to physical dirt, moral corruption, or the act of making something impure.

・On-yomi (音読み): オ (o) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): けが-す (kega-su), けが-れる (kega-reru), よご-す (yogo-su), よご-れる (yogo-reru)

⚫︎ 汚染 (osen) Translation: Pollution, contamination. ⚫︎ 汚い (kitanai) Translation: Dirty, filthy. ⚫︎ 汚職 (oshoku) Translation: Corruption (in office).

The kanji 汚 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound. The semantic component is 氵 (san-zu), which is the water radical, indicating something related to liquid or washing. The phonetic component is 丂, which is the sound element, providing the sound "o". Together, they create the meaning of something being polluted or contaminated by water or other impurities. The character developed over time, evolving from earlier forms that depicted the concept of dirt or filth being associated with water.