Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 被 evolved from ancient pictographs representing a covering or garment. In its earliest forms found in Liushutong, it depicted a cloth or blanket. The character consists of the radical 衣 (clothing) combined with 皮 (skin/hide), suggesting something that covers like a second skin. Originally meaning 'quilt' or 'cover,' it later extended to mean 'to suffer' (as in being covered by misfortune) and became a passive voice marker in Chinese grammar. The evolution shows how a concrete object (covering) developed abstract grammatical functions. Arrived in Japan: The character 被 was likely introduced to Japan during the 5th-6th centuries CE along with the broader adoption of Chinese writing systems, possibly through Buddhist texts and official missions to Tang China. It became established in Japanese as both a kanji and in the passive verb conjugation pattern (～られる form) during the Heian period (794-1185).