即便
jí biàn · HSK 7
even if
⏩ 即 (even/promptly) + 便 (then) = even then / right away
即 carries the 'as soon as / even' sense and 便 means 'then', so together they swing two ways: 'even if... then' (concession) and 'do it then and there' (at once). Context picks the meaning.
即 — 皀 (food vessel) + 卩 (kneeling person)
Originally a pictograph showing a person kneeling beside a food vessel, about to eat. The original sense was 'to approach (the meal)' or 'to draw near.' From this came extended meanings like 'immediately,' 'at once,' and 'namely,' since approaching something happens right away.
便 — person 亻 + change 更
A semantic compound: 亻(person) beside 更 (to change/replace). The original sense was a person making things easier or more convenient by adjusting them. From 'convenient' it extended to 'then/thereupon' (biàn) and to bodily 'discharge' (as in 大便).