近来
jìnlái · HSK 5
lately
🆕 近 (near) + 来 (come) = time that has come near = recently
近 means near/close and 来 means come or arrive. Together they describe a span of time that has come close to now — the recent past. Common in news and conversation to mean lately or of late.
近 — 辶 (walk) + 斤 (axe, phonetic)
近 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 辶 radical signals movement or distance, while 斤 (axe) supplies the sound. Together they convey the idea of a short distance to walk, hence 'near' or 'close'.
来 — pictograph of a wheat plant with grain heads
来 originally depicted a stalk of wheat with drooping grain heads, and meant 'wheat' in oracle bone script. It was later borrowed phonetically to write the unrelated verb 'to come,' which became its dominant meaning. The original 'wheat' sense was taken over by 麥 (now 麦).