shénshèn

extremely

Original meaning: 

very peaceful and happy

Depicts putting something sweet in the mouth () with a spoon. Based on the original meaning "very peaceful and happy". The meaning later shifted to "excessive" "extremely".

Components
甘 iconic component

  Iconic component

gān

  

sweetness

Depicts something sweet inside the mouth.

◎ iconic component

  Iconic component

  

characterless component

Depicts a spoon.

Evolution

甚 Bronze script Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)

Bronze script

Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)
甚 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
甚 Clerical script Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Clerical script

Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)
甚 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

 

shén

great extent; considerably; variant of [shén]

 

shèn

what; very; extremely; any

Most common words with 甚
Freq.
Word
Meaning

甚至

even

what

甚至于

so much (that)

甚为

very

更有甚者

furthermore (idiom)

Component uses

Meaning component in 2 characters (0 verified)

Sound component in 9 characters (1 verified)