挨着
āi zhe · HSK 6
near
👫 挨 = next to + 着 = aspect marker; 'being next to'
挨 means to be close to or lean against; 着 (zhe) is a grammatical particle marking a continuous state. Together 挨着 = 'being right next to' — used for physical proximity, like sitting or standing near someone or something.
挨 — hand radical 扌 + 矣 (phonetic)
挨 is a phonetic-semantic compound: the hand radical 扌 signals a meaning related to physical contact, while 矣 supplies the sound. It originally meant to push or strike with the hand, then broadened to 'lean against' and 'be next to' (āi), and later extended to 'suffer' or 'endure' a blow (ái).
着 — sheep 羊 (top) + eye 目 (bottom)
着 originated as a variant of 著, which depicted plants emerging visibly above ground (grass radical 艹 over 者). Over time 着 split off to carry meanings like 'attach,' 'wear,' or a verb suffix marking ongoing action (zhe), while 著 kept senses like 'manifest' or 'author.'