況

Phono-semantic compound:

水 (water radical) – semantic, suggesting flow, condition, or state.

兄 (elder brother) – phonetic element, lending the sound “황.”

The character conveys the sense of a state or circumstance, originally linked to flowing or ongoing conditions, and later extended to mean situation, case, or atmosphere. The adverbial sense “하물며” (let alone, much more) comes from rhetorical usage in classical texts.

상황 (狀況) – situation, condition

기況 (氣況) – atmosphere, state of spirit

近況 (근況) – recent condition, current situation

況且 (황차) – moreover, what’s more (classical/literary)

Often paired with 狀 (form, appearance) in the compound 狀況, one of the most common modern usages.

In literary contexts, 況 appears as a conjunctive adverb, meaning “how much more so,” “let alone.”