沉 chén — sink, heavy · English

沉

chén

sink, heavy

At a glance · 沉

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

小篆从水冘声，形声字，本指没入水中。隶楷作「沉」（古作「沈」，后分工）。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「沉」本指没于水，引申为沉重、深沉、低落。

Structure

形声字，水（氵）为意符，冘为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinchén

Radical氵

Strokes7

UnicodeU+6C89

Character type形声

Theme状态

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English sink, heavy To sink; heavy, deep, low.

Français couler, lourd Couler; lourd, profond, bas.

Español hundir, pesado Hundir; pesado, profundo, bajo.

العربية يغرق، ثقيل يغرق أو ثقيل أو عميق.

Русский тонуть, тяжёлый Тонуть; тяжёлый, глубокий, низкий.

Common words

沉重chén zhòngheavy
沉chénsink

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