时事
shí shì · HSK 5
the present situation
📰 时 = time + 事 = affairs; literally time-affairs = current events
时 means time or era, 事 means matters or affairs. Together they denote the affairs of the moment — what's happening now in the world, often used for news and current events.
时 — sun 日 + temple/measure 寺
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 日 (sun) gives the meaning of time or season, while 寺 (shí) supplies the sound. Early forms used 之 as the phonetic before 寺 replaced it. The core sense 'season, time, hour' has stayed stable since ancient Chinese.
事 — hand 又 holding a banner/tablet on a pole
Originally a pictograph of a hand (又) grasping a pole or ceremonial banner used by an official, depicting the act of conducting court business. From this it came to mean 'affair, matter, business, service.' It shares an ancient origin with 史 (scribe) and 吏 (official).