Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
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堕 combines the radical 阝(left), a pictograph representing a stepped mound or terrace, with the phonetic component 陏 on the right, which itself is a combination of 阜 (mound/terrace) and 有 (to have). The original character, 隓, depicted two hands (𠂇) knocking earth from a wall (阜), creating the core meaning of "to fall" or "to crumble." The character's formation is a classic example of a phono-semantic compound. The semantic element 阝(阜), meaning "mound" or "earthwork," provides the core meaning related to a physical fall or collapse. The right-hand component 陏 primarily served a phonetic function to indicate pronunciation but also reinforced the meaning through its own association with earth and mounds. Over time, the character simplified from 隓 to its current form, 堕, solidifying its association with a downward movement from a higher state. 堕 entered Japan between the 5th and 8th centuries AD, part of the large-scale importation of Chinese writing and literature via the Korean peninsula. It was adopted into the Japanese lexicon, retaining its core meaning of "to fall," but with a strong moral and spiritual connotation of a "fall from grace." This is evident in its use in Buddhist texts to describe a fall from a higher spiritual realm into a lower one, which heavily influenced its modern Japanese meaning of "degenerate" or "depraved." This moral dimension distinguishes it from the more general term for falling, 落ちる, as 堕ちる implies a fall into a negative or inferior state, such as depravity (堕落) or even hell (地獄に堕ちる).