The kanji 音 represents "sound" or "noise." It encompasses a wide range of auditory experiences, from music and speech to the rustling of leaves or the hum of a machine. At its core, it refers to anything that can be heard.

・On-yomi (音読み): オン (on) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): おと (oto)

⚫︎ 音楽 (ongaku) Translation: Music ⚫︎ 音 (音oto) がする Translation: A sound is heard/there's a sound. ⚫︎ 発音 (hatsuon) Translation: Pronunciation

The kanji 音 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいいもじ). The character combines the phonetic component 言 (gen/gon, meaning "to speak") with a component that depicts the ear, representing "sound" or "noise." It’s a combination suggesting that sound comes from speech or other sources perceived by the ear. This indicates that speech is a type of sound. The depiction evolved over time.