豐

The original character is 豐.

In oracle bone script, it depicted:

豆 - a ritual vessel with plant elements (木-like form) placed above.

This pictograph symbolized grain filling a ritual vessel — a visual representation of abundance and harvest.

Thus, the original meaning was “plentiful” or “bountiful.”

Over time 豊 became a widely used variant form (especially in Korea and Japan).

In Korean place names, 豊 is extremely common, reflecting Korea’s historical agricultural culture.

풍년 (豊年) — good harvest

풍성 (豊盛) — abundance

풍요 (豊饒) — richness; prosperity

풍부 (豊富) — abundant

Because Korea was historically an agricultural society, 豊 appears frequently in:

- place names;

- village names;

- regional titles.

It overwhelmingly appears more often than 風 when the sound “풍” is used in place names.

豊 emphasizes natural abundance and fullness, especially agricultural.

Semantic distinctions:

富 — wealth (financial)

饒 — fertile; rich (soil or resources)

盛 — flourishing; prosperous

Important distinction 豊 vs 豐:

Although 豊 is commonly treated as a variant of 豐, they were originally different characters.

豐 — abundance, fullness;

豊 — originally an ancient form of 禮 (ritual), referring to a ritual vessel.

The Shuōwén Jiězì (說文解字) explains 豐 and 豊 separately.

Today:

Taiwan & Hong Kong use 豐.

Korea & Japan commonly use 豊.

Mainland China uses 丰.

The divergence between 豊 and 豐 is historically significant but largely neutralized in modern usage.