亲生
qīn shēng · HSK 7
one's own
👶🧬 亲 (kin/parent) + 生 (give birth) = related to you by birth, not adoption
亲 marks a blood relative and 生 means to give birth, so 亲生 pins down the by-birth link: a 亲生 child is one you bore, and 亲生 parents are the ones who bore you, as opposed to step- or adoptive kin.
亲 — 立 (stand) + 木 (tree); simplified from 親
The traditional form 親 combined 亲 (phonetic, depicting a hazelnut tree) with 見 (see), suggesting closeness through frequent seeing of family. In simplified Chinese, 見 was dropped, leaving 亲. It now means 'parent,' 'intimate,' or 'in person,' and as qìng denotes in-laws.
生 — sprout 屮 above earth 土
Originally a pictograph showing a young plant sprouting from the ground, with 屮 (a sprout) above 土 (earth). The core meaning is 'to be born, to grow, to live,' which extends to 'raw, unripe, unfamiliar.' The modern form has simplified the sprout shape but preserves the image of new growth emerging from soil.