湮 meaning and stroke order
To block up; to sink; to stain
How to write 湮, stroke by stroke
12 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 湮
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (literary) to sink into oblivion
- (literary) to silt up
- Taiwan pr. [yin1]
- variant of 洇[yin1]
How 湮 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A dammed 垔 stream 氵; 垔 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 湮
Picture a stream 氵 that has been dammed up by 垔, so the water stops and everything sinks out of sight. Water on the left, a blockage on the right, and 垔 also hints at the sound yān.
湮 (yān) is literary and mostly appears in fixed words about things being buried or forgotten over time, such as 湮没 (yānmò, to be buried or fall into oblivion) and 湮灭 (yānmiè, to vanish without a trace). Example: 这段历史早已湮没无闻。 (Zhè duàn lìshǐ zǎo yǐ yānmò wú wén.) This part of history has long been forgotten.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 湮 with 烟 (yān, smoke) because they sound the same, or with 堙 (yīn, to block up), which has the earth radical 土 instead of water. In 湮没 and 湮灭, the left side is always water 氵.
Questions about 湮
How many strokes are in 湮?
湮 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 湮 mean?
湮 (yān) means to block up; to sink; to stain.
How do you pronounce 湮?
湮 is pronounced yān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 湮?
The radical of 湮 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 湮 under this radical.
Why is 湮 sometimes read yīn?
When 湮 is used as a variant of 洇 (yīn), it means ink or liquid soaking and spreading through paper or cloth, as in 墨水湮了 (the ink has run). In Taiwan, yīn is also a common reading for the literary sense. In mainland standard Mandarin, words like 湮没 use yān.
What does 湮灭 mean in physics?
In physics, 湮灭 (yānmiè) is the standard term for annihilation, when a particle and its antiparticle destroy each other. Outside science, it simply means to disappear completely.