timidity, heart, mind, fear, cowardly
臆 centers on an inner state of fear or hesitation: timidity, cowardice, and a mind or heart that shrinks back. The 'heart' and 'mind' senses refer to the seat of such fearful feelings.
臆 combines the flesh radical ⺼ with 意, which likely contributes both sound and the idea of inner thought or feeling. The character expresses the physical seat of fear or timidity in the body.
The flesh radical ⺼ suggests the body, and 意 (idea, mind) points to inner thoughts. Picture a timid person whose body and mind are filled with fearful ideas.
For オク, imagine an octopus (オクトパス) that is surprisingly timid, hiding in its den. The 'oc' in octopus cues オク, and the octopus's cowardly behavior matches the kanji's meaning.
cowardly; timid; easily frightened
coward; wimp
timid face
to be hesitant; to feel timid
bravery and cowardice
fearlessly
conjectures and surmises; speculation; giving one's imagination full play without any ground
one's inmost thoughts (feelings)
to be hesitant; to feel timid
guessing; speculation; supposition; hypothesis
timidity-causing god; god of cowardice; god of panic
loss of nerve; attack of nerves; panic
to become scared; to have an attack of nerves; to have a yellow streak; to chicken out; to run out of courage
conjecture
bold; audacious; impudent; unashamed; unabashed
brazenly; shamelessly; unashamedly; unabashedly; impudently; audaciously