Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 含 (hán/hàn) evolved from ancient pictographs showing a mouth (口) containing something. In its earliest forms found in oracle bone script, it depicted a mouth with an object inside, representing the concept of 'holding in the mouth' or 'containing.' The modern form clearly shows 今 (now/present) as the phonetic component above 口 (mouth), though originally the top element represented the contained object rather than the character 今. The core meaning has remained consistent - to contain, hold in the mouth, or harbor within. It appears in words like 包含 (to contain), 含意 (implication), and 含む (to contain/hold in mouth). Arrived in Japan: The character 含 likely arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing systems, either directly from China or via the Korean peninsula. 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 Manyoshu (8th century).