Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 凡 originally depicted a mold or pattern in ancient Chinese bronze inscriptions, representing something ordinary or commonplace. Its earliest forms showed a simple rectangular or trapezoidal shape, evolving through seal script to the modern kanji. The character carries meanings of 'ordinary', 'common', 'every', or 'all', reflecting its origin as a basic template from which multiple things could be created. In philosophical contexts, it came to represent the mundane world as opposed to the sacred or exceptional. Arrived in Japan: The character 凡 likely arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing systems, possibly through Buddhist texts and diplomatic exchanges. It was incorporated into the Japanese writing system as part of the kanji imported during the Asuka and Nara periods, appearing in early Japanese texts like the Kojiki (712 CE) and Nihon Shoki (720 CE).