斤 primarily represents a unit of weight, specifically a unit of measurement for weight in ancient China. It can also represent an axe, a tool used for cutting. Its core meaning revolves around weight or something related to cutting or dividing.

・On-yomi (音読み): kin (きん) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): none (this character doesn't have a commonly used native reading in modern Japanese)

⚫︎ 一斤 いっ斤 Translation: One jin (a unit of weight) ⚫︎ 斤两 きんりょう Translation: Jin and liang (units of weight; also used metaphorically to mean “importance”) ⚫︎ 斧斤 おの (archaic usage) Translation: Axe

The character 斤 is a pictograph. It depicts an axe head. The horizontal line represents the sharp edge, and the vertical stroke represents the handle. Over time, the form of the axe evolved, and the character came to represent both the tool and, by extension, the concept of cutting or dividing, and eventually, a unit of weight.