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 網 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字) formed from the semantic component 糸, meaning "thread" or "silk," and the phonetic component 罔 (もう, *mjang in Middle Chinese), which also carries a related meaning of "net" or "deceive." The character 罔 itself is a variant of 网, the original pictograph for a net. Thus, 網 essentially combines the meaning of "thread" with the sound and concept of "net," creating a more specific character for a net made from cords or threads. Historically, the character evolved from the oracle bone script pictograph 网, which depicted a simple, crisscrossing fishing or hunting net. This primitive form was later borrowed to create the character 罔, and the 糸 radical was added for clarity to emphasize the material. The character 網 was standardized during the seal script period and has been in continuous use since. It arrived in Japan around the 5th century AD, during the period when the Chinese writing system was imported to Japan via the Korean peninsula, along with Buddhist texts and continental culture. Culturally, the character's core meaning of "netting" extends metaphorically to concepts of networks, systems, and entrapment, such as in 通信網 (tsūshinmō, communication network) or 法網 (hōmō, the net of the law). The persistence of the original pictograph 网 as a radical in other net-related characters, like 羅 (thin net, silk gauze), demonstrates its foundational role in the writing system. This etymology shows a clear logical progression from a concrete pictograph to a more complex, definitive character.