Origin, Field

Interesting Fact

The ancient form of 原 is surprisingly visual. It was formed from 厂, representing a cliff, and an abbreviated form of 泉, representing a spring. The original image was water bubbling out from beneath a cliff—the source from which a stream begins. From this physical “source” idea, 原 developed the meaning origin, beginning, or source. Much later, it also came to mean a broad, flat stretch of land, giving Japanese words such as 草原 (sōgen), “grassland.”