仞 (rèn): ren, an ancient unit of length…

Meanings

1 ren, an ancient unit of length (about 7 to 8 Chinese feet)

Characters

仞

rèn

ancient unit of length (7-8 feet)

Examples

一片孤城万仞山。

Yípiàn gū chéng wàn rèn shān.

A lone wall amid mountains ten thousand ren high.

为山九仞，功亏一篑。

Wéi shān jiǔ rèn, gōngkuīyíkuì.

A mound of nine ren can fail for want of one last basket of earth.

Tips

history

仞 is a classical measure of height or depth, about seven to eight 尺 (Chinese feet). It survives mostly in set phrases like 万仞 (towering) and 功亏一篑.

mistakes

Don't confuse 仞 (a length unit) with the look-alikes 刃 (blade) and 韧 (tough). They share the sound but mean entirely different things.

Components

radical

亻 rén

person

Left is the side-person radical 亻, the standing form of 人. The unit was originally the span of a person's outstretched arms, so the human radical is fitting.

phonetic

刃 rèn

blade (phonetic)

Right is 刃, a knife 刀 with a dot marking its edge, here purely for the sound rèn. The same phonetic appears in 韧 (tough).

Stroke Order

仞 rèn

Related Words

寸 cùn HSK 5 #4,864

a traditional Chinese unit of length (about 3.33 cm) / inch (informal usage)

尺 chǐ HSK 4 #3,448

ruler / Chinese foot (unit of length, about 33.3 cm)

操心 cāoxīn HSK 7-9 #4,636

to worry about / to be concerned about / to take care of

单位 dānwèi HSK 2 #4,282

work unit / unit (of measure)

磅 bàng HSK 7-9 #1,969

pound (unit of weight, ~454 g) / scale (for weighing) / to weigh (on a scale) / point (typographic unit)

惦记 diànjì HSK 7-9 #10,973

to think about / to keep thinking about / to be concerned about

埃 āi #6,761

dust; dirt / angstrom (unit of length) / phonetic component (as in 埃及 'Egypt')

担 dàn HSK 7-9 #9,676

a load carried on a shoulder pole / picul (a unit of weight, 100 catties, about 50 kg) / classifier for loads carried on a shoulder pole

比特 bǐtè #5,336

bit (unit of digital information)

镑 bàng #5,587

pound (currency) / pound (unit of weight)