依旧
yījiù · HSK 5
still
🔄 依 (rely on) + 旧 (old) = relying on the old way = as usual
依 means to rely on or depend on; 旧 means old or former. Together they describe something continuing in its old, familiar pattern — still the same, as it always was.
依 — person radical 亻 + clothing 衣
A semantic-phonetic compound: 亻(person) gives the meaning of relying on someone, while 衣 (yī, clothing) supplies the sound. The original sense pictured a person leaning on or wrapped in clothing, extended to the modern meanings of 'rely on,' 'depend on,' and 'according to.'
旧 — 丨 vertical stroke + 日 sun/day
旧 is the simplified form of 舊, which originally depicted an owl (萑) perched on a nest (臼) and was borrowed phonetically to mean 'old' or 'former.' The modern simplified shape combines 丨 with 日 (sun/day), suggesting days gone by. Today it means 'old,' 'former,' or 'used.'