湿润
shī rùn · HSK 7
moist
💧 湿 = damp + 润 = smooth/glossy; together = moist
湿 carries the water radical 氵 and means wet or damp. 润 also has the water radical and means smooth or glossy, the sheen damp things take on. Damp plus glossy gives 湿润, moist.
湿 — water 氵 + 㬎 (phonetic, 'visible')
湿 originally depicted dampness, combining the water radical 氵 with 㬎, which suggests sun shining on silk threads being dried. The water component carries the meaning 'wet/damp,' while 㬎 hints at the pronunciation. Modern simplified form 湿 replaced traditional 濕.
润 — water radical 氵 + run/king 闰
A semantic-phonetic compound: 氵 (water) gives the meaning, while 闰 (rùn) supplies the sound. The original sense was 'to moisten' or 'to soak,' which extended to 'glossy,' 'sleek,' and figuratively 'to enrich' or 'profit.'