The kanji 黙 primarily conveys the concept of silence, stillness, or taciturnity. It implies a state of not speaking, refraining from words, or being quiet. It also suggests a state of inactivity or something being concealed or hidden.

・On-yomi (音読み): モク (moku) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): だま(る) (dama(ru)) - to be silent, to say nothing

⚫︎ 沈黙 (ちんもく) Translation: Silence; stillness ⚫︎ 黙認 (もくにん) Translation: tacit approval; tacit consent; to acknowledge without protest ⚫︎ 黙々と食べる (もくもくとたべる) Translation: to eat silently and diligently

The kanji 黙 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). It is comprised of two parts: a semantic component and a phonetic component. The semantic component is 黑 (koku) meaning "black." This part suggests the darkness or obscurity associated with silence; when one is silent, they conceal their thoughts like something hidden in the dark. The phonetic component is 犬 (ken) meaning "dog" which contributes to the pronunciation モク (moku). The combination of these elements created the meaning related to the idea of being silent, quiet, or not speaking.