How to Write 苒 (rǎn) — Meaning “luxuriant / passing of time”

Imagine a field of grass (艹) that gradually grows and then slowly fades as time passes, like the sun moving across the sky (冉 can resemble a slow movement). This connects the 'grass' radical to the idea of things growing lush and then time slipping away.

Write the top radical 艹 as a wide horizontal stroke with two short vertical strokes; make it slightly wider than the bottom part. The bottom part 冉 has a vertical stroke that should align with the center, and the final horizontal stroke extends slightly to balance the character.

苒 (rǎn) means 'luxuriant' or is used in time-related words, while 兹 (zī) means 'now' or 'this' and has a different bottom part (玄). 艻 (lè) is rare and often means 'plant name' or 'thorn'; it looks similar but has 力 in the bottom instead of 冉.

苒 is almost always used in the two-character word 荏苒 (rěn rǎn) to describe time passing quickly, as in '时光荏苒' (time flies). It is poetic and literary, not common in daily conversation, so you will mainly see it in writing or classical phrases.

Common words containing 苒 include: 荏苒 (rěn rǎn) — (Time) passing quickly; 苒苒 (rǎn rǎn) — luxuriant / gradually; 苒若 (rǎn ruò) — like / drifting.