临 (lín) is a Chinese character meaning “to face”. It is written from ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇔ (dot stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇕ (horizontal-turning stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke), and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to face; to overlook”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇑ + ㇑ + ㇒ + ㇐ + ㇔ + ㇑ + ㇕ + ㇑ + ㇐
Overlapping structure
- ㇑ vertical stroke unknown
- ㇑ vertical stroke unknown
- ㇒ left-falling stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇔ dot stroke unknown
- ㇑ vertical stroke unknown
- ㇕ horizontal-turning stroke unknown
- ㇑ vertical stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+4E34 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (9 strokes: 竖/竖/撇/横/点/竖/横折/竖/横)；现代字形未见可追溯的成字部件拆分，故按笔画建模
Memory aid
Two uprights (㇑ ㇑) stand at the left like a railing. Behind them a stroke sweeps down (㇒), a bar (㇐) and a dot (㇔) mark what lies below, and a turning stroke (㇕) closes the frame around it — you are leaning over the rail, looking down on the scene.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 面临miàn línto face; to be confronted with临 = lín
- 临时lín shítemporary; at the last moment临 = lín
Go deeper
All readings
to face; to overlook
to face; to overlook; to be close to; to be about to; to copy a model of calligraphy
面对着；靠近；将要发生；也指照着字画范本摹写。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 面临miàn línto face; to be confronted with临 = lín
- 临时lín shítemporary; at the last moment临 = lín
Other characters with these parts
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 临 mean?
临 (lín) means to face; to overlook; to be close to; to be about to; to copy a model of calligraphy.
How do you pronounce 临?
It is pronounced lín.
What parts is 临 made of?
㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇔ (dot stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇕ (horizontal-turning stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode U+4E34 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (9 strokes: 竖/竖/撇/横/点/竖/横折/竖/横)；现代字形未见可追溯的成字部件拆分，故按笔画建模. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 临 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 临?
丨. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 临?
Common ones are 面临 and 临时. The reading of 临 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.