Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 頃 (qīng) originally depicted a person bending their head, combining 匕 (a kneeling person) with 頁 (head/head emphasis). Its core meaning evolved to represent 'a moment' or 'a short period of time' - the brief instant it takes to tilt one's head. In modern usage, it carries meanings including 'moment,' 'just now,' and 'to incline.' The character appears in classical texts like the Analects with the temporal meaning, showing its early semantic development from physical inclination to temporal measurement. Arrived in Japan: The character 頃 arrived in Japan during the Yayoi period (300 BCE - 300 CE) through cultural exchange with China, likely via the Korean peninsula. It was systematically introduced along with other Chinese characters during the 5th-6th centuries CE when Japanese scholars began studying Chinese texts. The character was incorporated into the Japanese writing system as 頃 (ki/goro/kei), maintaining its meanings of 'about,' 'approximately,' and temporal reference.