jiàn, jiān
gradually
Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 斬 represents the sound.
Evolution

Seal script
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical script
Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)Regular script
ModernMost common words with 漸
Freq. | Word | Meaning |
---|---|---|
gradually | ||
gradually | ||
gradual | ||
more (or better etc) with each passing day | ||
in sequence, step by step (idiom); to make steady progress incrementally |
Sources