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 眠 (sleep) evolved from ancient pictographs representing closed eyes. In its earliest forms, it combined the 'eye' radical (目) with the character 民 (people), suggesting the lowered eyelids of sleeping people. Over time, the composition simplified and standardized into the modern form 眠, maintaining the eye radical but with a modified right component. The character perfectly captures the essence of closed eyes in slumber, representing sleep, rest, and dormancy in Chinese writing. Arrived in Japan: The character 眠 likely arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing system (kanji) through Korean scholars and Buddhist texts. It became established in Japan during the Asuka and Nara periods when Japan systematically adopted Chinese characters for writing the Japanese language.