Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
Historical forms are not available yet. The current form is shown as a reference.
The character 峡 (xiá) evolved from ancient pictographs depicting two mountains with a narrow passage between them. The original form showed two mountain radicals (山) with a person or object in the middle, representing a gorge or narrow pass between mountains. Over time, it simplified to its current form with 山 (mountain) as the radical and 夹 (jiā, meaning 'to press between') as the phonetic component. The character perfectly captures its meaning of 'gorge,' 'ravine,' or 'narrow passage between mountains,' as seen in words like 峡谷 (canyon/gorge) and 海峡 (strait/channel). Arrived in Japan: The character 峡 arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE as part of the wave of Chinese writing system adoption, likely through Buddhist texts and official documents. It became established in Japanese as 'kyō' (as in 海峡 - kaikyō) during the Nara period (710-794 CE) when the Japanese writing system was formally systematized.