临 (lín): to face, to overlook, to arrive
临 (lín) is a Chinese character meaning “to face.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 丨 (line). It ranks #839 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Definitions
- to face
- to overlook
- to arrive
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 临
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 光临verb | guāng lín | (formal) to honor with one's presence | 5 |
| 面临verb | miàn lín | to face sth | 5 |
| 临时adverb/adjective | lín shí | as the time draws near | 5 |
| 来临verb | lái lín | to approach | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 降临 | jiàng lín | to descend |
| 临床 | lín chuáng | clinical |
| 临死 | lín sǐ | facing death |
| 临终 | lín zhōng | approaching one's end |
| 濒临 | bīn lín | on the edge of |
| 临近 | lín jìn | to approach |
| 临时工 | lín shí gōng | temporary worker |
| 临头 | lín tóu | to befall |
| 莅临 | lì lín | to arrive (esp. of notable person) |
| 临别 | lín bié | just before parting |
| 临走 | lín zǒu | before leaving |
| 临界 | lín jiè | critical |
| 驾临 | jià lín | to grace sb with one's presence |
| 亲临 | qīn lín | to visit in person |
| 临界点 | lín jiè diǎn | critical point |
临 appears in 100 compound words: 84 as the first character, 14 as the last, and 2 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 临 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (21)
facing imminent catastrophe; calamity looms; all hell will break loose
see 臨淵羨魚，不如退而結網|临渊羡鱼，不如退而结网[lin2 yuan1 xian4 yu2 , bu4 ru2 tui4 er2 jie2 wang3]
see 臨淵羨魚，不如退而結網|临渊羡鱼，不如退而结网[lin2 yuan1 xian4 yu2 , bu4 ru2 tui4 er2 jie2 wang3]
lit. face thirst and dig a well (idiom); fig. not to make adequate provision; to act when it is too late
to fail to make a timely preparation and look for a solution at the last minute
facing imminent catastrophe; calamity looms; all hell will break loose
see 臨淵羨魚，不如退而結網|临渊羡鱼，不如退而结网[lin2 yuan1 xian4 yu2 , bu4 ru2 tui4 er2 jie2 wang3]
see 臨淵羨魚，不如退而結網|临渊羡鱼，不如退而结网[lin2 yuan1 xian4 yu2 , bu4 ru2 tui4 er2 jie2 wang3]
to fail to make a timely preparation and look for a solution at the last minute
Showing 12 of 21 idioms containing 临.
Example Sentences
临字的写法很特别，让我印象深刻。
lín zì de xiě fǎ hěn tè bié , ràng wǒ yìn xiàng shēn kè .
The way the character "临" is written is quite unique and left a deep impression on me.
临盆在即老公睡翻!产妇苦笑“东西丢光都叫不...
lín pén zài jí lǎo gōng shuì fān ! chǎn fù kǔ xiào dōng xī diū guāng dōu jiào bù . . .
My husband fell asleep when he was about to give birth! The mother smiled bitterly: "I can't even call it if I lose everything...
...男童性发育不良 长春高新“网红”软膏获批临床|速读公告
. . . nán tóng xìng fā yù bù liáng cháng chūn gāo xīn wǎng hóng ruǎn gāo huò pī lín chuáng sù dòu gōng gào
... Boys' sexual dysplasia Changchun high-tech "Internet celebrity" ointment approved for clinical trial|speed reading announcement
今年唯一血月将在正月十五降临
jīn nián wéi yī xiě yuè jiāng zài zhèng yuè shí wǔ jiàng lín
This year's only blood month will fall on the 15th of January
...加征关税被驳回后川普警告他国:耍花样将面临更狠制裁
. . . jiā zhēng guān shuì bèi bó huí hòu chuān pǔ jǐng gào tā guó : shuǎ huā yàng jiāng miàn lín gēng hěn zhì cái
... After the tariffs were rejected, Trump warned other countries that they would face harsher sanctions if they played tricks
...任何国家如藉最高法院荒谬裁决耍花招 将面临更重关税
. . . rèn hé guó jiā rú 藉 zuì gāo fǎ yuàn huāng miù cái jué shuǎ huā zhāo jiāng miàn lín gēng chóng guān shuì
... Any country that plays tricks with the absurd Supreme Court ruling will face heavier tariffs
逆境顺境看襟度，临喜临怒看涵养。
Nìjìng shùnjìng kàn jīndù, lín xǐ lín nù kàn hányǎng.
Adversity and prosperity reveal one's breadth of mind; joy and anger test one's self-restraint.
汤姆感谢玛丽的光临。
Tāngmǔ gǎnxiè Mǎlì de guānglín.
Tom thanked Mary for coming.
俄罗斯面临着严重的财政困难。
éluósī miànlín zhe yánzhòng de cáizhèng kùnnan.
Russia is facing great financial difficulties.
夜幕降临时，孩子们回家了。
Yèmùjiànglín shí, háizimen huíjiā le.
The children returned home at dusk.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 临 (lín)?
Is 临 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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