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 kanji 帰 is a simplified form of the traditional character 歸. Its origin is complex and debated, but the most accepted analysis is that it is a phono-semantic compound. The right-hand component 帚 (a pictograph of a broom) was likely the original phonetic component, indicating the pronunciation, while the left-hand components 止 (foot, meaning "to go") and 㠯 (a depiction of a city or settlement) provided the meaning. Thus, the core idea was "to go to one's settlement," which directly conveys "to return home." Historically, the character evolved significantly in its graphical form. On ancient bronze inscriptions, the character was often composed of 帚 and 阜 (a mound, representing a place or settlement). This later standardized in small seal script as 歸, which combined 止, 帚, and 㠯. Over time, clerical script and cursive writing in China simplified this complex form. The modern Japanese shinjitai "帰" is a direct adoption of a highly stylized cursive form of the left side of 歸, which was already in common use in handwritten documents. The character, in its traditional form 歸, was introduced to Japan alongside the Chinese writing system, most likely between the 5th and 6th centuries via Korean peninsula and direct cultural exchange with China. It was integrated into the Japanese lexicon, adopting the native Japanese kun'yomi "kaeru" (to return) in addition to the Sino-Japanese on'yomi "KI." A significant cultural note is that 帰 carries a strong connotation of returning to one's proper place, especially home or homeland. This is distinct from the kanji 還, which implies a return from a journey or a cyclical return, and 返, which is a general term for giving something back. The focus of 帰 on "homecoming" reflects its etymological roots of returning to one's settlement.