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臨

简 临 · 繁 臨
Mandarin · pinyin lín

Meanings

  1. to face
  2. to overlook
  3. to arrive
  4. to be (just) about to
  5. just before
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Characters in this entry

臨
Look up this written character
临
lín · draw near, approach; descend
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Entries containing 臨 ↗Words written with 臨 ↗Words written with 临 ↗

Mandarin tones

2 · lin2

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Connected dictionary

1character link50same-tone records
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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

臨 · find source passages ↗ · 临 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 13 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

lam4 · lam6

Cantonese word readings for 臨. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

  1. to overlook; to look over; to look down at
  2. to come down; to descend
  3. to arrive
  4. to face; to border; to be adjacent to
  5. to be faced with; to be confronted by
  6. just before; approaching; about to
  7. to copy; to trace
  8. (historical) a type of siege engine
  9. 19th hexagram of the I Ching
  10. a surname

character · Etymology 1

  1. (obsolete) to mourn for a deceased person; to wail in lamentation of a death

character · Etymology 2

  1. (Hokkien) close (to an edge)
  2. (Hokkien) to approach; to get close to; to be almost

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack