这边
zhèbiān · HSK 1
here
👉 这 (this) + 边 (side) = this side / over here
这 means 'this' and 边 means 'side' or 'edge', so 这边 literally reads as 'this side'. Contrast with 那边 (nàbiān, that side / over there), which swaps 这 for 那 (that).
这 — walk radical 辶 + speech 言
这 is the simplified form of 這. The traditional character combines the walk/movement radical 辶 with 言 (speech), originally meaning 'to meet' or 'to encounter on the way.' Over time it shifted to function as the demonstrative 'this,' likely through phonetic borrowing in vernacular Chinese.
边 — 辶 (walk) + 臱 (phonetic)
边 is the simplified form of 邊. It combines the walking radical 辶 with the phonetic component 臱, suggesting a place reached by walking — the edge or border of a territory. The meaning extended from 'frontier' to 'side' or 'edge' in general.