Meaning of 沉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to submerge
- to immerse
- to sink
- to keep down
- to lower
- to drop
- deep
- profound
- variant of 沉[chen2]
How to use 沉
As a verb, 沉 means to sink, and as an adjective it means heavy or deep, as in a heavy bag or a deep sleep. It also appears in many words about mood and silence, like 沉默 (chénmò) and 消沉 (xiāochén). Example: 这个箱子很沉。(Zhège xiāngzi hěn chén.) This box is very heavy.
沉 has the water radical 氵 on the left, so picture something going down into water. The right side 冗 looks like a covered shape with a person underneath, like someone sinking below the surface.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 沉 with 况 (kuàng), as in 情况. 况 has the two-dot ice radical 冫 on the left, while 沉 has the three-dot water radical 氵. Another trap is writing the top of the right side as 宀 with a dot. The correct shape is 冖, with no dot on top.
沉 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
沉 chén · to submerge · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 沉.
| 沉默 | chénmò | taciturn; uncommunicative |
| 沉重 | chénzhòng | heavy; hard |
| 沉浸 | chénjìn | to soak; to permeate |
| 沉迷 | chénmí | to be engrossed; to be absorbed with |
| 消沉 | xiāochén | to sink into despondency; (of morale, willpower etc) to diminish; to plummet |
| 沉闷 | chénmèn | oppressive (of weather); heavy |
| 沉思 | chénsī | to contemplate; to ponder |
| 沉着 | chénzhuó | steady; calm and collected |
| 沉淀 | chéndiàn | (chemistry) to settle; to precipitate; (chemistry) sediment; precipitate |
| 沉稳 | chénwěn | steady; calm |
| 沉甸甸 | chéndiàndiàn | heavy |
| 沉睡 | chénshuì | to be fast asleep; (fig.) to lie dormant; to lie undiscovered |
Questions about 沉
What does 沉 mean?
沉 (chén) means "to submerge; to immerse" and is used as a verb and adjective.
How do you write 沉?
沉 is made of 1 character: 沉 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 沉 an HSK word?
Yes. 沉 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 沉 mean heavy in everyday speech?
Yes. In spoken Chinese, especially in northern China, people often say 很沉 (hěn chén) for a heavy object, much like 很重 (hěn zhòng). 重 is more general, while 沉 feels more colloquial when you are describing weight.
What is the difference between 沉浸 and 沉迷?
沉浸 (chénjìn) means to be immersed in something like music, joy, or thought, and it is usually neutral or positive. 沉迷 (chénmí) means to be hooked on something, like games, and it often sounds negative.