Origin

This kanji is a direct picture of an arrow. The top part represents the fletched end (the feathered tail that helps it fly straight), while the lower strokes show the shaft and pointed head. Because arrows were essential tools for hunting and warfare in ancient times, the shape was preserved in the written character, and the word for arrow eventually came to mean the object itself in both Chinese and Japanese.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Pictographic or simple.