Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 声 (shēng), meaning 'sound' or 'voice', evolved from ancient pictographs depicting a musical stone chime (磬) and an ear (耳), symbolizing the act of listening to a sound. In the Liushutong, L10925 shows an early seal script form that captures this essence. Over time, it simplified into the modern kanji 声, which retains the meaning of auditory phenomena, such as voices, noises, or tones, reflecting its roots in ancient Chinese culture where sound was associated with ritual and communication. Arrived in Japan: The character 声 likely arrived in Japan during the 5th to 6th centuries CE, as part of the introduction of Chinese writing and culture through Buddhist texts and diplomatic exchanges. It was adopted into the Japanese writing system as a kanji, used in words like 声 (koe, meaning 'voice') and integrated into the Japanese language during the Nara period (710-794 CE).