Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 給 evolved from ancient pictographs representing 'to supply' or 'to provide.' Its earliest forms in oracle bone and bronze scripts showed a hand feeding someone with silk or thread, combining the radical for 'silk' (糸) with the phonetic component that also meant 'to join' or 'to connect.' Over centuries, it standardized during the Qin dynasty clerical script reforms into its modern form. The core meaning has consistently revolved around provision—whether supplying materials, granting provisions, or in modern usage, indicating 'to give' or 'salary.' In Japanese, it also carries meanings related to supply and wages. Arrived in Japan: The character 給 likely arrived in Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE, when the Japanese court actively imported Chinese writing systems and classical texts through Korean scribes and diplomatic missions. It appears in early Japanese documents like the 8th-century Man'yōshū poetry anthology, indicating it was established in Japanese writing by the Nara period (710-794 CE).