Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
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The kanji 努 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字) formed during the clerical script (隷書) transition in China. Its semantic component is 力 (chikara), meaning "strength" or "power," which directly relates to the concept of exertion and toil. The phonetic component is 奴 (nu or do), a character meaning "slave" or "servant," which provides the modern Japanese on'yomi reading "nu" and also contributes to the meaning. The character originally depicted the strenuous labor or effort exerted by a servant or slave, combining the ideas of servitude and physical power into the single concept of diligent effort. Historically, the character evolved from earlier forms. While not found in oracle bone script, its components have ancient origins. 奴 itself is a compound of 女 (woman) and 又 (hand), originally depicting a captured woman, hence "slave." The character 努 was created by adding 力 to this, creating a new meaning. It was standardized in its current form during the Han dynasty clerical script, which regularized the brush strokes, and this structure was retained through kaisho (regular script). The character arrived in Japan around the 5th century AD, most likely through the Korean peninsula alongside other Chinese writing system elements. It was incorporated into the Japanese language as a kanji, adopting its meaning of "to exert oneself" or "endeavor." Its on'yomi is "nu" (as in 努力 - doryoku), and its kun'yomi is "tsuto(meru)." A key cultural note is that the concept of 努 (doryoku) is deeply embedded in Japanese social values, emphasizing perseverance and hard work as virtues, which aligns with the character's etymological roots of applying one's strength to a task, much like the forced labor of its original component, 奴.