p8nda
p8nda BETA
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仞

rèn
measure word #62,435

Meanings

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

Examples

HSK 7-9
一片孤城万仞山。
Yí piàn gū chéng wàn rèn shān.
A lone wall amid mountains ten thousand ren high.
HSK 7-9
为山九仞，功亏一篑。
Wéi shān jiǔ rèn, gōngkuī-yíkuì.
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