寻
xún · HSK 7
look for
🔍 xun sounds like soon: you soon seek what you search for
The old form shows two hands (彐 over 寸) reaching out, measuring a span by arm-length; that reaching-out sense shifted to mean groping after something, hence to seek or search for.
寻 — hand 彐 (top) + inch 寸 (bottom), simplified from 尋
Originally a compound showing two hands measuring a length, with 工 and 口 between them, indicating the act of measuring with outstretched arms. The traditional form 尋 referred to a unit of length (about eight chi). The meaning extended from 'measure' to 'search for' or 'seek out'.