环境
huánjìng · HSK 3
environment
🌳🏙️ 环 = ring/surround + 境 = boundary/territory → what surrounds you
环 means ring or to encircle; 境 means boundary or realm. Together they name the boundary that encircles you — your surroundings or environment. Same 境 appears in 边境 (border) and 困境 (predicament).
环 — jade radical 玉/王 + 睘 (huán phonetic)
环 is a phono-semantic compound. The left side 王 (a form of 玉 'jade') gives the meaning, since the original sense was a circular jade ring worn as an ornament. The right side 睘 supplies the sound 'huán'. From 'jade ring' the meaning broadened to 'ring, loop, encircle,' and in modern Chinese also 'environment' in 环境.