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荏

rěn
noun #58,275

Meanings

  1. 1 perilla; beefsteak plant (an aromatic herb)
  2. 2 weak; soft

Examples

色厉内荏，形容外表强硬，内心怯懦。
Sè lì nèi rěn, xíngróng wàibiǎo qiángyìng, nèixīn qiènuò.
"Stern outside but soft within" describes someone who acts tough but is timid inside.
荏的种子可以榨油。
Rěn de zhǒngzi kěyǐ zhà yóu.
The seeds of the perilla plant can be pressed for oil.

Tips

usage
Besides naming the perilla herb, 荏 means "weak" in the set phrase 色厉内荏 ("fierce outside, weak inside"). It also appears in 荏苒, "(of time) slipping by".

Components

radical
艹 cǎo
grass; plant
艹 is the grass radical, marking the original sense of 荏 as a herb.
phonetic
任 rèn
to bear; to appoint
任 supplies the sound (rèn shifted to rěn) and carries no meaning here. The same phonetic appears in 妊 and 衽.

Stroke Order

荏 rěn