lín
woods; a grove; a gathering
Meanings & readings
Meanings & dictionary uses
2 senses · 4 wordsWoods, woodland, or a grove
Related to forests
Languages & readings
Choose a recorded reading. Explore other varieties through their reference sources below.
Mandarin
Sense-linked readingsReadings & meanings
Usage scope
Regional and word-specific qualifications remain attached to the sense and vocabulary records.
Cantonese
Selected character readingSource & reading limitations
Jyutping · Unihan 17.0.0
This property supplies a customary character reading for collation and transliteration. It does not list every reading or identify the reading for each word and sense. It also does not encode a separate regional label for each value.
Other Chinese languages & varieties
Reference guides · character readings not yet imported.
Taiwanese Hokkien 臺灣台語Reference sources only
The Ministry of Education dictionary is the reference for Taiwanese vocabulary and readings. Its Tâi-lô guide distinguishes citation tones from changes in connected speech. Other Hokkien varieties require their own sources.
- Reference variety
- Taiwanese Hokkien, with the regional distinctions recorded by Taiwan's Ministry of Education
- Notation
- Tâi-lô (臺羅), as used by the linked MOE dictionary
Hakka 客語Reference sources only
Taiwan's Ministry of Education documents six Hakka varieties separately. Choose the variety before comparing readings; a single undifferentiated Hakka pronunciation would hide meaningful differences.
- Reference variety
- Taiwan: Sixian, Hailu, Dapu, Raoping, Zhao'an and Southern Sixian
- Notation
- Taiwan Hakka Romanization System (臺灣客語拼音方案)
Teochew 潮州話／潮汕話Reference sources only
Explore CUHK's published Chaozhou lexicon and its separate Shantou sound table. These reference locations remain explicit: readings from one locality should not stand in for every Teochew variety.
- Reference variety
- Chaozhou lexicon; separate Shantou syllable-table resource
- Notation
- Source phonetic transcription; no shared local romanization imported
Wu 吳語・上海話Reference sources only
The linked university resource documents Shanghai. Wu also includes other local varieties; Shanghai readings should retain that location label when compared with Mandarin or Cantonese.
- Reference variety
- Shanghai
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Eastern Min 閩東語・福州話Reference sources only
Fuzhou is an Eastern Min reference variety. Its dedicated CUHK sound table offers a starting point; other Eastern Min localities need distinct records and source attribution.
- Reference variety
- Fuzhou
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Gan 贛語・南昌話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Nanchang sound table. The broader Gan group contains local differences, so future readings should identify Nanchang or another documented locality explicitly.
- Reference variety
- Nanchang
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Xiang 湘語・長沙話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Changsha sound table. Keep Changsha separate from other Xiang localities when adding readings; the group name does not denote one uniform pronunciation.
- Reference variety
- Changsha
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese
Readings recorded for 林 in other language traditions. These are character-level records, not word translations or interchangeable pronunciations.
Japanese 日本語
Grouped by the source’s kana notation; no frequency ranking is implied.
On’yomi · katakana
Kun’yomi · hiragana
Katakana generally indicates on’yomi; hiragana generally indicates kun’yomi. The source does not identify everyday, rare, historical or name use per reading. Kana strings are preserved, including any written endings; consult a Japanese word entry for actual use.
Go deeperJisho ↗Wiktionary ↗
Korean 한국어
Hanja readings · Hangul
Source codes are separated below. They are neither sounds nor tones; a character reading alone does not specify a whole word’s pronunciation.
Go deeperNaver Hanja ↗Wiktionary ↗
Reading sources explained
- 림
- KS X 1001 (0) · Educational Hanja (E)
- 임
- KS X 1001 (0)
Vietnamese Tiếng Việt
Character readings · Quốc ngữ
Vietnamese readings associated with this Han character. This field alone does not establish word meanings, current usage, or a complete account of Hán-Nôm reading traditions.
Go deeperHán Việt (Thi Viện) ↗Wiktionary ↗
Form & structure
Structure & components
2 direct parts- Layout
- left right
- Index radical
- 木 · 75 · 4 residual strokes
Two 木 components stand side by side. The left component narrows to make room for its neighbor. This modern decomposition agrees with the broad historical account, but exact glyph proportions vary by period and writing convention.
Follow the recorded parts
- recorded boundary
- recorded boundary
A boundary means no finer analysis is published here; it does not assert an indivisible unit. Radical classification and component structure are separate.
Inspect the component network ↗Writing
8 strokesModern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. [47]
Words & connections
Examples
2 sentences我們沿著樹林邊的小路走。
我们沿着树林边的小路走。
We walk along the path beside the woods.
這片林地需要保護。
这片林地需要保护。
This woodland needs protection.
Original editorial sentences. Pinyin uses dictionary tones; connected speech may differ.
Connections
0 phonetic neighboursThis pilot does not link this character to a sound (phonetic) family. Explore the other recorded relationships below.
Follow this component
History & distinctions
Etymology & evidence
2 accountsTrees standing together
CUHK reads the early graph as two trees side by side, expressing a group of trees. Its dossier cites oracle-bone uses as names of places or polities and bronze uses referring to a forest. The earliest uses cited on a page need not exhaust the character’s history.
Meaning is established by context
The dossier also records borrowed uses for other words in early texts. A graph’s visible shape therefore does not determine the meaning of every inscription in which it occurs.
Reading this character · explanatory note
林 is the character for woods or a grove, usually met inside words such as 樹林 / 树林 and 森林. Its two visible 木 shapes offer an unusually direct connection between the modern form and the historical explanation: CUHK describes trees standing together. Two drawn trees do not mean a woodland must contain exactly two trees. Repeated shapes can express a collection. In present-day reading, learn the whole word: 林業 / 林业 concerns forestry, while 林 also occurs as the surname Lín. The same written form is used in simplified and traditional Chinese.
Historical specimens remain at their sources. No dated attestation sequence or licensed specimen image is claimed.
Inspect CUHK’s forms and discussion ↗Forms & distinctions
林 itself does not change between the two modern form conventions. Neighboring characters may change: 樹林 becomes 树林 and 林業 becomes 林业. Treat conversion at word level.
林 has two 木 shapes side by side; 森 has three, with one above two. Both occur together in 森林, but they are not freely interchangeable in every word.
Historical readings
- Middle Chinese
- lim · 力尋 反切 · #1047
Guangyun-based transcriptions · PHONO-ML · CC BY 4.0. These describe historical reading categories, not modern word pronunciation.
Source row & reading categories
CSV line 8255 · lim = 深開三平侵來
Automatically generated in the source dataset; the authors checked a subset and acknowledge possible errors. All source readings are retained separately. Notation & method ↗
Sources & reference
Sources & research
4 sourcesLocator & rights
Character entry; 形義通解, 繁簡對應, and cited Shuowen discussion where present · link_only · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
Release 2026-10-12T08:13:53Z. Exact word-reading locators are retained with each WordRecord. · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
17.0.0 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
bddc96d41bef78427ed0e034e9f7e31d71fd1b92 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Open research · 1 items
- No independent specialist review has been performed. Historical specimen images are linked at source; no image-reuse permission has been obtained.
Cited claims compared with the consulted entries; no independent expert review recorded.
Readings across dictionaries
- Hanyu Da Zidian
- lín 21164.070
- Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
- lín 0716.020
- Tongyong Guifan · 2013
- lín 224.180
- Reading counts · XDHYPLCD
- lín(341)
- Mandarin / Cantonese · SMSZD
- lín粵lam4