• 源泉げんせん — source of a spring
• 資源しげん — resources
• 語源ごげん — etymology
• 電源でんげん — power source
• 起源きげん — origin / beginning
• 源流げんりゅう — headwaters / origin of a river
• 源氏げんじ — the Genji clan

源 combines 氵 (water) with 原 (origin). It suggests water flowing from its starting point — a natural symbol for sources, beginnings, or foundations.