濒

瀕

bīn

氵 + 频

Definitions

bīn (verb) to approach; to border on; to be near to

Etymology

Depicts a person standing (页) on the shore wading (涉) in shallow water.

Semantic: 氵 Phonetic: 频

About

濒 combines the water radical 氵 with 频 (traditional 頻), which itself joins 步 'step' and 页 'person'. The structure illustrates a person wading in shallow water at the shore, giving the original meaning of waterside or brink. 频 also cues the pronunciation. From this physical edge, the sense extended to any critical boundary or condition, as in being on the verge of extinction, collapse, or a major turning point.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Bronze Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

河流濒临干涸。

Héliú bīnlín gānhé.

The river is on the brink of drying up.

这种植物濒危了。

Zhè zhǒng zhíwù bīnwēi le.

This plant is endangered.

公司濒临破产。

Gōngsī bīnlín pòchǎn.

The company is on the verge of bankruptcy.

他濒死时被救了。

Tā bīnsǐ shí bèi jiù le.

He was saved when he was near death.

海岸线濒临污染。

Hǎi'ànxiàn bīnlín wūrǎn.

The coastline is on the verge of pollution.

濒危物种需要保护。

Bīnwēi wùzhǒng xūyào bǎohù.

Endangered species need protection.

由于过度捕捞，许多鱼类濒临灭绝。

Yóuyú guòdù bǔlāo, xǔduō yúlèi bīnlín mièjué.

Due to overfishing, many fish species are on the verge of extinction.

在濒临崩溃的边缘，他找到了希望。

Zài bīnlín bēngkuì de biānyuán, tā zhǎodào le xīwàng.

On the brink of collapse, he found hope.

Related Characters

Component: 氵

Component: 频

濒