林 lín — forest, woods · English

林

lín

forest, woods

At a glance · 林

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

甲骨文、金文从二「木」，会意众木丛生为林。隶楷作「林」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「林」本指树木成片，引申为丛林、林业。

Structure

会意字，从二木，象树木丛聚之形。

At a glance

Pinyinlín

Radical木

Strokes8

UnicodeU+6797

Character type会意

Theme植物

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English forest, woods A forest, grove of trees.

Français forêt, bois Une forêt, un bois d'arbres.

Español bosque, selva Un bosque, arboleda.

العربية غابة، شجر غابة أو مجموعة أشجار.

Русский лес, роща Лес, роща деревьев.

Common words

树林shù línforest
森林sēn línforest

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