Meaning of 深
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (lit. and fig.) deep
- old variant of 深[shen1]
How to use 深
深 describes physical depth, like water or a hole, and also figurative depth, like feelings, impressions, or difficult ideas. It also describes dark colors and late hours. Example: 这条河很深。(Zhè tiáo hé hěn shēn.) This river is very deep.
深 (shēn) has the water radical 氵 on the left, so picture water that goes far down. Think of a deep pool where you cannot see the bottom.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 深 (shēn) with 探 (tàn, to explore), which has the hand radical 扌 instead of the water radical 氵. Also keep the first tone in 深 flat and high, not falling like 甚 (shèn).
深 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.
深 shēn · deep · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 深.
| 深刻 | shēnkè | profound; deep |
| 深入 | shēnrù | to penetrate deeply; thorough |
| 深厚 | shēnhòu | deep; profound |
| 深处 | shēnchù | abyss; depths |
| 深度 | shēndù | depth; (of a speech etc) profundity |
| 深深 | shēnshēn | deep; profound |
| 深化 | shēnhuà | to deepen; to intensify |
| 深夜 | shēnyè | very late at night |
| 深信 | shēnxìn | to believe firmly |
| 资深 | zīshēn | senior; highly experienced; veteran |
| 深受 | shēnshòu | to receive in no small measure |
| 深情 | shēnqíng | deep emotion; deep feeling; deep love; affectionate; loving |
Questions about 深
What does 深 mean?
深 (shēn) means "(lit. and fig.) deep" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 深?
深 is made of 1 character: 深 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 深 an HSK word?
Yes. 深 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say a dark color with 深?
Put 深 before the color to mean dark, as in 深蓝色 (shēn lánsè) dark blue. The opposite is 浅 (qiǎn), as in 浅蓝色 (qiǎn lánsè) light blue.
What is the opposite of 深?
The usual opposite is 浅 (qiǎn), meaning shallow or light. Both work for water depth, colors, and how hard or easy something is to understand.