临

臨
lín
#837 most
frequent character
. to border, . just before, about to
verb
preposition

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

临 is an abbreviated form of 臨. It shows a bent person with a large eye looking toward many objects 品, which also supplies the sound. It first meant to look down and inspect those objects. The meaning grew to face, to be near in space, and to be near in time or about to.

Drawn as: bent person; large eye; group of objects

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Example Sentences

我们临近目的地了。
wǒmen línjìn mùdìdì le 。
We are close to our destination.
他临走时给我打了个电话。
tā línzǒushí gěi wǒ dǎ le gè diànhuà 。
He called me just before leaving.
她临睡前总是要看书。
tā lín shuìqián zǒngshì yào kànshū 。
She always reads a book just before going to sleep.

Words with similar meanings

靠近kàojìn
to approach
This term emphasizes the act of moving closer to something, often used in physical contexts.
临近línjìn
to be near
This is closely related in meaning, often used to indicate proximity in time or space.

Homophones

HSK 6
淋lín
to drain, to drench, to drip
邻lín
neighbor, adjacent, close to
林lín
(bound form) woods, forest

Words Starting With 临

临时lín shí
at the instant sth happens; temporary; interim; ad hoc
临床lín chuáng
clinical

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