亲近
qīnjìn · HSK 7
hang out
🤝 亲 (intimate/kin) + 近 (near) = stay near the people you're close to
Both characters already mean close: 亲 is family-close/intimate, 近 is physically near. Doubled up, 亲近 is the warm closeness of hanging out and affiliating with someone.
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.
近 — 辶 (walk) + 斤 (axe, phonetic)
近 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 辶 radical signals movement or distance, while 斤 (axe) supplies the sound. Together they convey the idea of a short distance to walk, hence 'near' or 'close'.