林

林 (Kangxi radical 75, 木+4, 8 strokes, cangjie input 木木 (DD), four-corner 4499₀, composition ⿰木木)

• 㑣, 啉, 𡍚, 㛦, 崊, 㣩, 惏, 㨆, 淋, 晽, 𦝃, 𤊩, 琳, 䢞, 𪾭, 碄, 綝(𬘭), 諃, 𨂕, 醂, 𧇨, 𪳻, 𮨭(𬱾), 𣒜, 彬, 郴, 㪔, 𬃂, 𬃴, 䫐(𬃲), 𠓭, 冧, 𠩵, 㚞, 㝝, 𡹇, 麻, 𣇰, 森, 菻, 𠄻, 痳, 罧, 𥦝, 𪩦, 𦋗, 箖, 𧇃, 𤾓, 䦥, 霖, 𧇥, 𠐙, 𬴫, 𪎦, 𣟒
• 𣑽, 𫦯, 㭝, 𠵂, 埜, 梦, 𡘽, 婪, 𡹚, 梵, 梺, 椘, 𢛓, 𫿱, 𣈅, 𣓏, 𪵝, 焚, 㷊, 棼, 棽, 棾, 𣓕, 𣓴, 𪲡, 𬂽, 榃, 楚, 𥁹, 𥓙, 禁, 𣕯, 𣕽, 𣕾, 𪲵, 𫱒, 𬃕, 𬃚, 𧛀, 𧩋, 𧯴, 𧼖, 䠂, 辳, 㯄, 𧹫, 𪳟, 𨨗, 樷, 㯟, 㯬, 𪳯, 𬄜, 檒(𮨴), 𣜕, 𨤳, 𪳽, 𬄰, 𩤆, 𣝹, 㰈, 𬷞, 麓, 𧰔, 𬅐, 𬅛, 𮟝, 𣫓

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 516, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14551
• Dae Jaweon: page 903, character 19
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1164, character 7
• Unihan data for U+6797
• Unihan data for U+F9F4

Historical forms of the character 林
Shang	Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Duplication of 木 (“tree”) to give the idea of multiple trees (compare 森), thus a forest.

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ram (“jungle; forest; country; field”) (STEDT). Cognate with 森 (OC *srɯm, “forest”), Mizo ram (“forest; country”), Karbi ram (“jungle”).

Or perhaps an area word (Schuessler, 2007), shared with Khmer រាម (riəm, “thick bushy jungle that grows along a stream”), Old Khmer *rām (“inundated forest along a watercourse”), Old Khmer sarāma ~ sarāṃ (“a tract of stunted vegetation”), Mon ရာံ (rèm, “copse; patch of woodland”).

林

1. forest; grove; woods

   竹林  ―  zhúlín  ―  bamboo forest

   防風林／防风林  ―  fángfēnglín  ―  windbreak; shelterbelt

2. circle; community; group of similar people or things

   武林  ―  wǔlín  ―  martial arts world

3. forestry
4. a surname, commonly romanized as Lin, Lim, and Lam

   林默娘  ―  Lín Mòniáng  ―  Lin Moniang (a Chinese sea goddess also known by several other names and titles)

   林彪  ―  Lín Biāo  ―  Lin Biao (a Marshal of the People's Republic of China)

Others:

• → English: Lin, Lam, Lum, Lim
• → Tagalog: Lim

• “Entry #4208”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2023.

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

• Go-on: りん (rin, Jōyō)^{←りん (rin, historical)←りむ (rimu, ancient)}
• Kan-on: りん (rin, Jōyō)^{←りん (rin, historical)←りむ (rimu, ancient)}
• Kun: はやし (hayashi, 林, Jōyō)^{←はやし (fayasi, 林, historical)}; おおい (ōi, 林い)^{←おほい (ofoi, 林い, historical)}
• Nanori: き (ki); きみ (kimi); しげ (shige); しげる (shigeru); とき (toki); ふさ (fusa); もと (moto); もり (mori); よし (yoshi)

• 林(りん)檎(ご) (ringo, “apple”)
• 少(しょう)林(りん) (Shōrin, “Shaolin”)

From Old Japanese. First mentioned in the Man'yōshū, completed in 759 CE.[1]

Derives from the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb 生やす (hayasu, “to grow”).[1] The root verb is in the transitive form, suggesting that the original sense of hayashi may have indicated a deliberately planted or managed grove.

• (Tokyo) はやし​ [hàyáshíꜜ] (Odaka – [3])[2][3][4]
• (Tokyo) はやし [hàyáshí] (Heiban – [0])[2][3][4]
• IPA^(key): [ha̠ja̠ɕi]

林(はやし) • (hayashi) 

1. [from 759] a grove, woods, copse
2. [from 759] (figurative) a forest of something

• 森(もり) (mori, “forest”, generally larger than a hayashi)

林(はやし) • (Hayashi) 

1. a surname
2. a female given name

/rimʉ/ → /riɴ/

From Middle Chinese 林 (MC lim).

林(りん) • (rin) 

1. grove, forest, woods, copse
2. gathering
3. lined up

林(りん) • (Rin) 

1. a surname
2. (rare) a female given name

As a surname, this reading is more often used by people of Chinese ancestry, since it is similar to the Mandarin Chinese reading of Lín.

From Middle Chinese 林 (MC lim). Recorded as Middle Korean 림 (lim) (Yale: lim) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Wikisource 林 (eumhun 수풀 림 (supul rim), South Korea 수풀 임 (supul im))

1. Hanja form^? of 림/임 (“forest”).

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

林: Hán Nôm readings: lâm, Lâm

1. forest
2. gathering
3. dense
4. chữ Hán form of Lâm (“a surname from Chinese.”).

• Hán Việt Tự Điển Thiều Chửu v. 3.0, http://vietnamtudien.org/thieuchuu, http://vietnamtudien.org/thieuchuu/&h75.htm#26519