• 根ね — root
• 根本こんぽん — foundation, basis
• 屋根やね — roof
• 根気こんき — patience, perseverance
• 根性こんじょう — guts, determination
• 根元ねもと — base, origin, root
• 根拠こんきょ — basis, grounds

The kanji 根 combines the radical 木き (tree) with 艮こん (stopping, staying still). It represents the part of the tree that stays in the ground — the root — and metaphorically suggests foundations or sources of things.

この問題もんだいの根本こんぽんを考かんがえよう。
Let’s consider the root of this problem.

木きの根ねが 深ふかく張はっている。
The tree’s roots spread deeply.