Where does “非” come from?

非 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 凡, from Middle Chinese 凡 — ordinary.

非 (Japanese): negative prefix: in-, non-, un-

Definitions

  1. negative prefix: in-, non-, un-

Ancestry of “非”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese凡mediocre, ordinary; mediocrity; dim, faint
2Middle Chinese凡ordinary

Words derived from “非”

Every word from Middle Chinese 凡 →Every word from Japanese 凡 →
非 — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer