righteousness, justice, morality, honor, loyalty, meaning
義 centers on a sense of moral rightness: acting with justice, honor, and loyalty. The 'meaning' sense is a natural extension, as something's true meaning is its righteous essence.
義 combines 羊 (sheep) and 我 (I, self). The traditional explanation is that a sheep represents a sacrificial animal used in rituals to uphold righteousness and justice, with 我 possibly contributing a phonetic element. The idea is that righteousness involves self-sacrifice for a higher moral order.
A sheep (羊) stands over me (我), reminding me to act with righteousness and honor, even if it requires personal sacrifice.
For ギ, imagine a righteous knight in shining armor giving a key (ギ) to justice: key -> ギ, and the knight's honor unlocks the door to morality.
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doctrine; rule; principle; -ism
justice; right; righteousness
duty; obligation; responsibility
definition
lecture
meaning; significance
name (esp. on a deed, contract, work, etc.); formal name; published name
duty; sense of duty; honor; honour; decency; courtesy; debt of gratitude; social obligation
father-in-law
significant; useful; meaningful; worthwhile; valuable; of interest
mother-in-law
loyalty; devotion
obligation
brother-in-law (spouse's older brother or older sister's husband)
great cause; moral law; justice
brother-in-law (spouse's younger brother or younger sister's husband)
sister-in-law (spouse's older sister or older brother's wife)
donation money (esp. disaster relief or charity); contribution
humanity and justice (esp. in Confucianism); virtue
morality; moral principles
doubt
faith; fidelity; loyalty
sister-in-law (spouse's younger sister or younger brother's wife)
just cause; good reason; pretext; justification
Marxism
heroism; loyalty and courage
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea); DPRK
synonym
primary significance; primary importance; first principle
artificial tooth
one meaning
original meaning
gidayū (type of reciting used in the puppet theater)
advocate (of a theory or principle); ideologist; ideologue
humanism; humanitarianism
totalitarianism
communism
egoism; egotism; selfishness
feudalism
imperialism
exclusivism; exclusionism
democracy
nationalism
socialism
compulsory education
liberalism
capitalism
militarism
moral obligation