In the case of 今, it means something on its own in Japanese; and to a lesser extent it means something on its own in standard Chinese (kinda like 這, sometimes l

In the case of 今, it means something on its own in Japanese; and to a lesser extent it means something on its own in standard Chinese (kinda like 這, sometimes like 現在) and definitely in classical Chinese. In Japanese, 令 doesn't tend to mean much on its own (though it can still be read a couple ways), but in Chinese it has many standalone meanings.