願 - PLEASE, Grant This WISH That Keeps Springing Up in My Mind

Readings & Meanings:

ガン

ねが（う）

wish, ask a favor, desire

Common Usage:

お願いします

念願

願書

願

Examples:

これからもよろしくお願いします。

念願のカメラを買った。

日本語検定の願書を提出した。

今年こそ思いが叶うように願をかけた。

Translations:

Please take care of me in the future as well. (set phrase to say upon meeting someone)

My heart's desire is to buy a camera.

I submitted my application for Japanese certification.

In the hopes of my wish coming true this year, I offer up my prayer.

Radical:

Oogai is the radical, 頁. It's a pictograph of a kneeling person with a huge head.

原 is the phonetic. Inside the cliff frame, 泉 is squished. 泉 is a spring of water. The pictograph suggests a circular spring.

At first, this combination of pictographs suggested the meaning of "round head." After a while, though, this kanji meant an idea that springs up and goes round and round your brain, over and over, like a wish. This led also to "request."

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/7.htm