涉

Ideogrammatic compound:

水 (물 수) — water, river, crossing

步 (걸음 보) — to step, to walk

Hence 涉 — to step into water → to cross.

Oracle bone form (甲骨文) depicts a stream of water (水) in the center flanked by two 止 (foot) symbols on opposite sides.

Thus the image shows:

- “feet stepping into water from both sides”

- the act of crossing a river by wading.

Some Bronze inscriptions (金文 jinwen) examples show 止 (feet) with two or three 水 flowing beneath, sometimes an extra 水 to the side, intensifying the idea of “crossing through water.”

In Small-seal script (小篆) water radical 水 shifts to the side of 步 (step), forming the stabilized structure 水 + 步 = 涉.

Semantic development:

To step through water — literal crossing of rivers, streams.

To traverse difficulties — physical and metaphorical extension.

To experience, undergo — “to go through” events or hardship.

To be involved in; to be implicated — involvement in matters, domains, or fields.

To touch upon a topic — in classical texts: “to mention,” “to deal with.”

In Korean, 涉(섭) appears mainly in formal, academic, or literary vocabulary indicating involvement, experience, crossing, or touching upon a matter.

Involvement / implication:

涉外 (섭외) — 대외 관계; relating to foreign affairs

涉嫌 (섭혐) — 혐의에 연루됨; to be suspected of involvement

涉及 (섭급) — 관계됨; to involve; to pertain to

涉案 (섭안) — 사건에 연루됨; to be implicated in a case

Experience / undergoing:

涉世 (섭세) — 세상을 살아감; to go through the world

涉難 (섭난) — 어려움을 겪음; to undergo hardship

涉險 (섭험) — 위험을 무릅씀; to face danger

Crossing / transit:

涉水 (섭수) — 물을 건너다; to wade across water

涉河 (섭하) — 강을 건넘; to cross a river

涉足 (섭족) — 발을 들여놓다; to set foot into; to enter into

Touching on / dealing with:

涉獵 (섭렵) — 여러 분야를 두루 읽거나 경험함; to dabble broadly; to skim

涉筆 (섭필) — 붓을 대다; to begin writing (classical)

涉論 (섭론) — 논의를 다룸; to touch upon in discussion

These compounds demonstrate the character’s dual literal and metaphorical nature.

涉 vs 涵 vs 淌 vs 趟:

涉 — cross, involve, undergo

涵 — to contain, immerse, nurture

淌 — to drip, to flow down

趟 — classifier for trips; originally “to wade through”

The “涉外” family of modern Chinese words common in political and legal terminology:

涉外法 (foreign-relations law)

涉外婚姻 (international marriage)

涉外機構 (foreign-related institutions)

Classical citations:

《詩經·小雅·伐木》 (The Book of Songs)

「臨河涉澗。」

“Approaching the river, they cross the stream” — literal wading across water.

《左傳·隱公元年》 (Zuo Zhuan)

「涉河而死。」

“He died while crossing the river.”

《孟子·告子下》 (Mencius)

「吾未嘗以吾所長，前乎人之所短；不若是之甚也。夫人涉世以求其志者也。」

“I have never used my strengths to expose others' weaknesses; nor have I ever done so to such an extreme. For every man enters the world seeking to fulfill his aspirations” — 涉 = go through life.

《荀子·修身》 (Xunzi)

「學不可以已，青取之於藍，而青於藍；冰水為之，而寒於水……君子涉難。」

“Learning must never cease. The indigo plant yields its color from the blue dye, yet its hue surpasses that of the dye itself; Ice is formed from water, yet its chill surpasses that of the water... Thus does the noble person navigate adversity.” — 涉 = face/undergo hardship.

《後漢書·張衡傳》 (Book of the Later Han Dynasty)

「涉獵書史。」

“He dabbled widely in books and histories” — 涉 = to touch upon, to dabble.

《史記·商君列傳》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「民涉法而死。」

“The people, being entangled with the harsh laws, died” — 涉 = to be involved or implicated.

These citations show the full semantic range: from physical crossing to involvement, experience.

㴇 (U+3D07) — archaic form composed of three 水 (“deep water crossing”). Rare and unused in modern script.