随时
suíshí · HSK 2
whenever
⏰ 随 = follow + 时 = time → following any time, i.e. whenever
随 means follow/comply, 时 means time or hour. Together they read as 'comply with the time', meaning at any time or whenever needed. Common in 随时随地 (anytime, anywhere).
随 — 辶 (walk) + 阝 (mound) + 有 phonetic
随 combines the walk radical 辶 with a phonetic component derived from 隋. The original sense is 'to follow along a path,' from the walking radical suggesting movement after someone. Over time it broadened to mean 'follow,' 'accompany,' or 'comply with.'
时 — sun 日 + temple/measure 寺
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 日 (sun) gives the meaning of time or season, while 寺 (shí) supplies the sound. Early forms used 之 as the phonetic before 寺 replaced it. The core sense 'season, time, hour' has stayed stable since ancient Chinese.