经历
jīnglì · HSK 3
experience
🛤️ 经 = pass through + 历 = calendar/history; together: live through time
经 means to pass through or go via; 历 means calendar or successive history. Combined, 经历 is what you've passed through across time — your lived experience or the act of going through something.
经 — silk radical 纟 + 巠 (underground stream)
Originally written 經, combining the silk radical 糸 with 巠, depicting vertical threads on a loom. The core meaning was 'warp threads,' which extended to 'pass through,' 'classic text,' and 'manage.' The phonetic 巠 also suggests the sound.