此刻
cǐ kè · HSK 5
now
⏰ 此 (this) + 刻 (carved moment) = this carved-out instant
此 means 'this' and 刻 originally meant to carve or engrave — by extension, a marked notch of time. Together 此刻 is literally 'this carved moment', a precise now.
此 — foot 止 + spoon/person 匕
此 originally depicted a person (匕) standing with a foot (止), suggesting 'to stop here' or 'this place.' Over time the meaning generalized from a specific location to the demonstrative pronoun 'this.' The foot component still hints at the original sense of standing in a particular spot.
刻 — knife radical 刂 + 亥 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The right side 亥 supplies the sound, while the knife radical 刂 on the right gives the meaning, since 刻 originally referred to carving or engraving with a blade. From 'to carve' it extended to marking time notches on a sundial, hence the modern sense of 'a moment' or 'quarter hour'.