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
Pinterest
Flickr
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
— 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.