渐 jiàn gradually
怎么记住“渐”: 氵 water + 斩 to chop = gradually. Each spring the melting water softens the frozen log that grandpa could not chop, and it falls apart gradually.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
渐 = 氵 water + 斩 to chop
- 氵 water meaning
- 斩 to chop sound
Each spring the melting water softens the frozen log that grandpa could not chop, and it falls apart gradually.
How it came to be
The water gives the meaning and the right part gives the sound; the word first named a river.
用法
- A bound literary morpheme meaning "gradually": modern Mandarin virtually never uses it alone as a one-syllable adverb; it always appears doubled or compounded.
- 渐渐 jiànjiàn is the everyday adverb for gradual change: 天渐渐冷了 (Tiān jiànjiàn lěng le), "It's gradually getting cold."
- 逐渐 zhújiàn is the more formal/written equivalent, common in essays and news reports rather than casual speech.