Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
Historical forms are not available yet. The current form is shown as a reference.
"満" is a simplified form of the traditional character "滿", which is classified as a phonetic-semantic compound (形声文字). The character is composed of the water radical (氵, さんずい) on the left, indicating its semantic field, and the component "㒼" (man) on the right, which primarily provides phonetic value but also contributes to the meaning. The original form in small seal script (小篆) clearly shows this structure. The water radical suggests a concept related to liquid or flow, while "㒼" itself is a compound meaning "a covered two-hided object" or something that is balanced and complete, contributing the idea of fullness or sufficiency. Thus, the core meaning of "water filling a container to the brim" is derived from this combination. The character's evolution began in ancient China. It appears in bronze inscriptions (金文) and was standardized in the small seal script during the Qin dynasty. From seal script, it evolved into the clerical script (隷書) during the Han dynasty, which flattened and regularized the brush strokes, leading to the more angular forms of the regular script (楷書). The traditional form "滿" was used for centuries. The modern Japanese form "満" is a simplification (新字体) introduced in Japan during the post-WWII period (1946 Tōyō kanji) to promote literacy, which reduced the number of strokes by modifying the right-hand component. "満" was introduced to Japan along with the Chinese writing system, most likely between the 5th and 6th centuries via Buddhist scriptures, official documents, and other cultural imports from the Korean peninsula and China. Its adoption was part of the broader process of absorbing Chinese culture and bureaucracy. A key linguistic note is the concept of "満" (man) in Buddhist context, where it appears in terms like 満足 (manzoku, satisfaction), reflecting a state of spiritual or material completeness. This philosophical and spiritual dimension enriched the character's usage beyond its literal meaning of physical fullness, solidifying its place in both everyday and classical Japanese vocabulary.