飽

Bored, Sated

Level 75

How this kanji evolved

Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.

The character 飽 (bǎo/hō) evolved from ancient pictographs depicting a person feeling full after a meal. Its structure combines the radical 食 (food/eating) with the phonetic component 包 (to wrap/contain). This signifies the concept of 'being full,' 'satiated,' or 'having eaten enough.' Over centuries, its meaning expanded metaphorically to include feelings of weariness or boredom from having 'too much' of something, perfectly capturing the physical and psychological state of satiation. Arrived in Japan: The character 飽, along with the bulk of the Chinese writing system, is believed to have arrived in Japan around the 5th century AD, primarily through the Korean peninsula. It was formally systematized and adopted into the Japanese language during the Nara period (710-794 AD) as part of the kanji orthography.

Reading reference

Onyomi (音読み)

ホウ

Kunyomi (訓読み)

あ

Related Vocabulary

飽き
weariness, boredom, tedium, tiresomeness
飽きる
to get tired of, to tire of, to lose interest in, to grow weary of, to get fed up with, to get sick of, to become bored with, to become sated, to become satiated, to have one's fill
飽くまでも
to the end, to the bitter end, to the last, stubbornly, persistently, consistently, to the utmost, after all, it must be remembered, only, purely, simply
飽食
eating until one is full, eating one's fill, gorging (on), satiation, having adequate food, having all one needs (for daily living), plenty
飽和
saturation, satiation