親
부수: 見
획수: 16획
韓 has the meanings closely acquainted, affectionate/cordial, family relations and in person.
親 = 亲 + 見
X = phonetic + semantic
• 亲 is comprised of 辛 ‘needle’ and 木 ‘tree’.
• 見 depicts a person with an enlarged eye, which emphasises the meaning ‘to see’.
Evolution:
親 = closely acquainted ➔ affectionate/cordial
親 = closely acquainted ➔ family relations
親 = closely acquainted ➔ in person
亲 = 辛 + 木
• 辛 depicts a sharp torture instrument like a tattoo needle.
• 木 depicts a tree and originally meant ‘hazel tree’.
The component 亲 is somewhat obscure. Some suggest that 亲 represents a cut-down tree marked with a sharp tool 辛 which is used for revering deceased relatives. Others suggest 亲 represents a tree 木 used for firewood and is used for its phonetic similarity and the associated sense of ‘close’ and ‘near’.
見 = 目 + 儿
• 目 depicts an enlarged eye.
• 儿 depicts a person(‘s legs).
From the meaning ‘to see’ (up close) comes the meanings ‘close’, ‘intimate’ and ‘relative’.
Mnemonic
The uncertainty surrounding 亲 makes mnemonics for 親 difficult.
Assume that 亲 is a fusion of needle 辛 and tree 木, and remember that 見 depicts a person with an exaggerated large eye.
親 looks like two friends standing close together. This is noticeable in the historical forms where one seems to lean towards the other as a sign of intimacy. Imagine two friends in a park where one has climbed a tree 木 with a needle 辛 and the other is watching 見 closely 親 to check on him.
Vocab
| 親하다 | 친하다 | to be close/friendly |
| 親分 | 친분 | closely acquainted |
| 親舊 | 친구 | friend |
| 親密 | 친밀 | closeness; intimacy |
| 親睦 | 친목 | friendship (formal) |
| 親近感 | 친근감 | friendliness |
| 親日派 | 친일파 | pro-Japanese collaborators |
| 親切 | 친절 | kind; helpful; hospitable |
| 親和力 | 친화력 | sociability; affinity |
| 親戚 | 친척 | relative |
| 兩親 | 양친 | one’s parents |
| 父親 | 부친 | father |
| 親家 | 친가 | paternal family |
| 親탁 | 친탁 | resemble one’s father |
| 親庭 | 친정 | a woman’s maiden home |
| 親딸 | 친딸 | biological daughter |
| 親히 | 친히 | in person |
| 親展 | 친전 | confidential |
Other resources
Image searches
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Baidu (click 图片)
Sogou
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CJKV
CJKV Dict
Wikitionary
Unihan Database
Korean
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Written Chinese
Arch Chinese
ZDic
CC-Canto
Chinese Text Project
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (etymology)
Chinese Boost
Japanese
Takoboto
Jisho
JLearn.net
Sakura
The Kanji Map
Sentence Search
Immersion Kit
Vietnamese
Bibliography
Affiliate links help support uK.
— Daum 사전, [s.v. 親].
— Grant, B.K. (1982). A Guide To Korean Characters: Reading and Writing Hangul and Hanja, [s.v. 1602]. Seoul: Hollym.
— Outlier Dictionary of Chinese Characters, [s.v. 親, 亲, 辛, 木, 見, 目, 儿].
— Seely, C., Henshall, K.G., & Fan, J. (2016). The Complete Guide to Japanese Kanji: Remembering and Understanding the 2,136 Standard Japanese Characters, [s.v. 166]. Singapore: Tuttle Publishing.