Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 干 originally depicted a shield with decorative tassels or feathers at the top, representing a defensive weapon in ancient warfare. Over time, its meaning expanded to include 'to offend,' 'to interfere,' and 'to dry.' In modern usage, it commonly means 'dry' (as in 乾燥) or 'to do' (as in 干活). The character evolved from a pictograph of a shield to its current simplified form through centuries of writing standardization. Arrived in Japan: The character 干 arrived in Japan during the Yayoi period (300 BCE - 300 CE) or early Kofun period (300-538 CE) through cultural exchange with China, likely via Korean peninsula. It was systematically introduced along with other Chinese characters during the 5th-6th centuries when Japanese scholars began studying Chinese writing systems more formally.