巳

Derived characters

 * Appendix:Chinese radical/己
 * 包
 * 导

Glyph origin
Two different theories: The character is similar to, which cannot be found in the Shuowen Jiezi.
 * of a snake (therefore, it should be similar to ). This theory is found in the Shuowen Jiezi;
 * of a fetus (it can be seen in, . In 包, the radical should represent the placenta. 胞 today means "cell").

Etymology 1
displaced, the original sixth earthly branch which denoted the moon's "coming forth" stage (i.e. early waning-gibbous phase) "due to phonological closeness (combined with the semantic opacity of the Branch terms at later eras)".

Association with the snake was possibly arbitrary, analogous to how 辰, the fifth earthly branch, was arbitrarily associated with the dragon.

Definitions

 * 1) sixth of twelve earthly branches (十二支)
 * 2) snake (蛇) of Chinese zodiac

Kanji

 * 1) sign of the snake

Etymology 1
Assumed to be an abbreviation of.

Philological analyses presume this was read as mi₂ in Old Japanese, as names and  were recorded in, alongside other names born on the.

Proper noun

 * 1) the, the sixth of the twelve  :
 * 2) a year corresponding to the year of the Snake
 * 3) south-southeast: a direction pointed thirty degrees from south to east
 * 4) 10 am
 * 5) April
 * 1) a year corresponding to the year of the Snake
 * 2) south-southeast: a direction pointed thirty degrees from south to east
 * 3) 10 am
 * 4) April

Etymology 2
From.

Affix

 * 1) the, the sixth of the twelve

Hanja

 * 1) the hours from 9 to 11
 * 2) 6th terrestrial branch