苒 (rǎn): (of plants) lush, luxuriant

Meanings

光阴荏苒，岁月悄悄流逝。

Guāngyīn rěn rǎn, suìyuè qiāoqiāo liúshì.

"Time slips quietly by" - the years pass without our noticing.

河岸上的草长得苒苒。

Héàn shàng de cǎo zhǎng de rǎn rǎn.

The grass on the riverbank grew lush and green.

usage

苒 is mostly seen in 荏苒, a literary phrase for time slipping away unnoticed, as in 光阴荏苒.

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant

艹 is the grass radical. The original sense of 苒 was lush, growing grass; the "time passing" sense grew out of that image of steady growth.

phonetic

冉 rǎn

slowly; gradually

冉 gives the exact sound rǎn and also reinforces the meaning, since 冉 itself suggests something moving slowly and gradually.

苒 rǎn