near, instant

即 is composed of the variant of 皀 and 卩, 皀 depicts a utensil full of cooked grains (rice), 卩 is the picture of a kneeling man, so 即 depicts a man kneeling next to a utensil, he is eating, its original meaning is dining, since a man need to get close to the utensil if he want to eat, 即 extend to the meaning of getting close.