Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 付 evolved from ancient pictographs showing a hand (寸/又) giving something to a person (人/亻). In its earliest forms found in bronze inscriptions, it depicted a hand passing an object to another person, representing the core meaning 'to hand over,' 'to entrust,' or 'to pay.' Over time, the components simplified and standardized into the modern form 付, consisting of the person radical 亻on the left and 寸 (hand/measure) on the right. This character has maintained its fundamental meaning related to delivery, transfer, and consignment throughout Chinese history. Arrived in Japan: The character 付 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 a kanji character during the period when Japan was systematically adopting Chinese characters (kanji) for writing the Japanese language.