The word 如今 is formed through the conceptual combination of its two constituent characters: 如 (rú), meaning "like" or "as", and 今 (jīn), meaning "now" or "present". It constructs its meaning of "nowadays" or "in the present time" by figuratively framing the current moment as being "as (it is) now", implicitly contrasting it with the past to evoke the idea of the contemporary era arrived at this very point.