沉

See also: 沈 and 瀋

沉	U+6C89, 沉 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-6C89

← 沈
[U+6C88]

CJK Unified Ideographs

沊 →
[U+6C8A]

Translingual

Traditional
Simplified
Japanese	沈
Korean	沈

Han character

沉 (Kangxi radical 85, 水+4, 7 strokes, cangjie input 水月竹弓 (EBHN) or 水月竹山 (EBHU), four-corner 3711₀, composition ⿰氵冗(GJKV) or ⿰氵⿱冖儿(HT))

Derived characters

𩂸, 𫪌

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 610, character 7
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 17190
Dae Jaweon: page 1003, character 1
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 1574, character 1
Unihan data for U+6C89

Chinese

trad.		沉
simp. ^#		沉
alternative forms		沈

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (冘) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
冘	lu, lum
抌	lu, ʔl'uːmʔ, *loʔ
狖	*lus
貁	*lus
耽	*ʔl'uːm
眈	ʔl'uːm, ʔl'uːmʔ, *l'uːm
酖	*ʔl'uːm
妉	*ʔl'uːm
黕	*ʔl'uːmʔ
衴	*ʔl'uːmʔ
瓭	*ʔl'uːmʔ
馾	*ʔl'uːms
髧	*l'uːmʔ
紞	*ʔl'oːmʔ
鈂	zlum, l'um
沈	l'um, l'ums, *hljumʔ
沉	*l'um
枕	l'um, ʔljumʔ, *ʔljums
莐	*l'um
霃	*l'um
鴆	*l'ums
訦	ɦljum, ɦljumʔ
忱	*ɦljum
邥	*hljumʔ
魫	*hljumʔ

Variant of 沈, see there for more.

Etymology

MSEA areal etymon: similar words exist in Austroasiatic, Kra-Dai, & Tibeto-Burman; yet those are difficult to match with potential OC relations (Schuessler, 2007).

Possible allofams are 淫 (OC *lɯm), 瀋 (OC *l̥ʰjɯmʔ), 函 (OC *ɡuːm, *ɡruːm), & 湛 (OC *ʔl'uːm, *r'uːmʔ, *l'um) (ibid.).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): chén (chen²)

(Zhuyin): ㄔㄣˊ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): cen²
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): cam⁴ / zam⁶

(Taishan, Wiktionary): cim³
Gan (Wiktionary): ciin²
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): chhṳ̀m / chhṳm / tem

(Hailu, HRS): chim / chim^ˇ / dem^ˇ

(Meixian, Guangdong): cem²
Jin (Wiktionary): ceng¹
Northern Min (KCR): dêng
Eastern Min (BUC): tèng
Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): ding²
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): tîm / tiâm / têm / thiām

(Teochew, Peng'im): dim⁵ / ding⁵ / tim⁷
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶zen
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): zhen² / zhen⁵

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: chén
  - Zhuyin: ㄔㄣˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: chén
  - Wade–Giles: chʻên²
  - Yale: chén
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chern
  - Palladius: чэнь (čɛnʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰən³⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: cen²
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: cen
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰən²¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: cam⁴ / zam⁶
  - Yale: chàhm / jahm
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tsam⁴ / dzam⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: cem⁴ / zem⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɐm²¹/, /t͡sɐm²²/

Note:

cam4 - literary;
zam6 - vernacular.

(Taishanese, Taicheng)
- Wiktionary: cim³
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰim²²/

Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: ciin²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɨn²⁴/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhṳ̀m / chhṳm / tem
  - Hakka Romanization System: ciim^ˇ / ciim / dem
  - Hagfa Pinyim: cim² / cim⁴ / dem⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰɨm¹¹/, /t͡sʰɨm⁵⁵/, /tem⁵⁵/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
  - Hakka Romanization System: chim / chim^ˇ / dem^ˇ
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡ʃʰim⁵⁵/, /t͡ʃʰim¹¹/, /tem¹¹/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: cem²
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰəm¹¹/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: ceng¹
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡sʰəŋ¹¹/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: dêng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /teiŋ³³/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: tèng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰɛiŋ⁵³/
Puxian Min
- (Putian)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: ding²
  - Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: díng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiŋ¹³/
- (Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: ding²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiŋ²⁴/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Nan'an, Yongchun, Changtai, Zhangpu, General Taiwanese, Klang)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tîm
  - Tâi-lô: tîm
  - Phofsit Daibuun: diim
  - IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Nan'an, Yongchun, Changtai, Taipei, Klang): /tim²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /tim²³/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /tim¹³/
  - IPA (Zhangpu): /tim²¹³/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Nan'an, Zhangpu, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tiâm
  - Tâi-lô: tiâm
  - Phofsit Daibuun: diaam
  - IPA (Zhangpu): /tiam²¹³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /tiam²³/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /tiam¹³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Nan'an, Taipei): /tiam²⁴/
- (Hokkien: Hui'an)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: têm
  - Tâi-lô: têm
  - Phofsit Daibuun: deem
  - IPA (Hui'an): /tem²⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Nan'an, Changtai, Zhangpu)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thiām
  - Tâi-lô: thiām
  - Phofsit Daibuun: tiam
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Changtai): /tʰiam²²/
  - IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /tʰiam⁴¹/
  - IPA (Zhangpu): /tʰiam³³/
  - IPA (Nan'an): /tʰiam³¹/

Note: thiām - "to put and submerge people or objects into water".

- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: dim⁵ / ding⁵ / tim⁷
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tîm / tîng / thīm
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tim⁵⁵/, /tiŋ⁵⁵/, /tʰim¹¹/

Note:

ding7 - Chenghai;
tim7 - dialectal usage ("to put and submerge people or objects into water").

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶zen
  - MiniDict: zen^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³zen
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /zən²³/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: zhen² / zhen⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key) (old-style): /ʈ͡ʂən¹³/, /ʈ͡ʂən²¹/
  - Sinological IPA ^(key) (new-style): /t͡sən¹³/, /t͡sən²¹/

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 沉
Mandarin	Beijing	/ʈ͡ʂʰən³⁵/
	Harbin	/ʈ͡ʂʰən²⁴/ ～重 /ʈ͡ʂʰən⁵³/ ～底
	Tianjin	/ʈ͡ʂʰən⁴⁵/ /t͡sʰən⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/ʈ͡ʂʰẽ⁴²/
	Qingdao	/tʃʰə̃⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/ʈ͡ʂʰən⁴²/
	Xi'an	/ʈ͡ʂʰẽ²⁴/
	Xining	/ʈ͡ʂʰə̃²⁴/
	Yinchuan	/ʈ͡ʂʰəŋ⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/ʈ͡ʂʰə̃n⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/t͡sʰən²¹³/
	Chengdu	/t͡sʰən³¹/
	Guiyang	/t͡sʰen²¹/
	Kunming	/ʈ͡ʂʰə̃³¹/
	Nanjing	/ʈ͡ʂʰən²⁴/
	Hefei	/ʈ͡ʂʰən⁵⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡sʰəŋ¹¹/
	Pingyao	/ʈ͡ʂʰəŋ¹³/
	Hohhot	/t͡sʰə̃ŋ³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/zəŋ²³/
	Suzhou	/zən¹³/
	Hangzhou	/d͡zen²¹³/
	Wenzhou	/d͡zaŋ³¹/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡ɕʰiʌ̃⁴⁴/
Hui	Tunxi	/t͡ɕʰian⁴⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/ʈ͡ʂən¹³/ /ʈ͡ʂən¹¹/ ～清,～魚
Xiang	Xiangtan	/d͡zən¹²/
Gan	Nanchang	/t͡sʰɨn²⁴/
Hakka	Meixian	/t͡sʰəm¹¹/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/tʃʰem¹¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/t͡sʰɐm²¹/
	Nanning	/t͡sʰɐm²¹/
	Hong Kong	/t͡sʰɐm²¹/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/tim³⁵/ /tiam³⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/tʰɛiŋ⁵³/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/teiŋ³³/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/tim⁵⁵/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/sim³¹/ /hiam³¹/

Middle Chinese: drim

Rime
Character	沉
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	澄 (11)
Final (韻)	侵 (140)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	直深切
Baxter	drim
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɖˠiɪm/
Pan Wuyun	/ɖᵚim/
Shao Rongfen	/ȡiem/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɖjim/
Li Rong	/ȡjəm/
Wang Li	/ȡĭĕm/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ȡʱi̯əm/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	chén
Expected Cantonese Reflex	cam⁴

Old Chinese
(Zhengzhang): /*l'um/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	沉
Reading #	1/1
No.	15256
Phonetic component	冘
Rime group	侵
Rime subdivision	3
Corresponding MC rime	沈
Old Chinese	/*l'um/
Notes	俗沈字見易林漢碑

Definitions

沉

to sink; to submerge (into water)
我頂泳帽沉咗落水底。 [Cantonese, trad.]
我顶泳帽沉咗落水底。 [Cantonese, simp.]
ngo⁵ deng² wing⁶ mou^6-2 cam⁴ zo² lok⁶ seoi² dai². [Jyutping]
My swimming cap sank to the bottom of the pool.
to fall; to sink; to subside
to settle; to make sink
to suppress; to stifle; to neglect
to be neglected
to indulge in; to be given to
to hide; to be hidden
heavy; weighty
dark; gloomy
deep; profound
睡得很沉 ― shuì de hěn chén ― to sleep soundly
long (duration); prolonged; lengthy
deeply; profoundly
(Cantonese) alternative form of 浸 (zam6, “to drown”)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 重 (“heavy”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		重
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		重
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	沉, 重
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	重
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	沉, 重
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	沉, 重
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	重
	Wuhan	重
	Guilin	重
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	重
Jianghuai Mandarin	Hefei	重
Cantonese	Guangzhou	重
	Hong Kong	重
	Yangjiang	重
Gan	Nanchang	重
Hakka	Meixian	重
Jin	Taiyuan	重, 沉
Northern Min	Jian'ou	重
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	重
Southern Min	Xiamen	重
	Quanzhou	重
	Zhangzhou	重
	Chaozhou	重
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	重
Wu	Suzhou	重
Wu	Wenzhou	重
Xiang	Changsha	重
Xiang	Shuangfeng	重

Dialectal synonyms of 沉 (“deep; sound (sleep)”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		沉, 熟
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	死, 實
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	沉, 熟
Cantonese	Guangzhou	淰
Cantonese	Hong Kong	淰
Hakka	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	淰
Southern Min	Tainan	沉

Compounds

一頭兒沉 / 一头儿沉 (yītóurchén)
下沉 (xiàchén)
不沉木
低沉 (dīchén)
兔缺烏沉 / 兔缺乌沉
升沉 (shēngchén)
南極星沉 / 南极星沉
口沉
小隙沉舟
屁股沉
屈沉
悶沉沉 / 闷沉沉
意志消沉
打個沉兒 / 打个沉儿
打破沉默
折戟沉沙 (zhéjǐchénshā)
提沉
昏昏沉沉
昏沉 (hūnchén)
暮氣沉沉 / 暮气沉沉
月落星沉
死氣沉沉 / 死气沉沉 (sǐqìchénchén)
沉下臉 / 沉下脸
沉不住氣 / 沉不住气
沉伏
沉住氣 / 沉住气 (chénzhùqì)
沉冥
沉冤 (chényuān)
沉冤莫白
沉勇 (chényǒng)
沉博絕麗 / 沉博绝丽
沉厚
沉厚寡言
沉吟 (chényín)
沉吟章句
沉寂 (chénjì)
沉屁股
沉得住氣 / 沉得住气
沉心
沉思 (chénsī)
沉悶 / 沉闷 (chénmèn)
沉憂 / 沉忧
沉抑 (chényì)
沉李浮瓜
沉枷
沉毅 (chényì)
沉水
沉水香
沉沒 / 沉没 (chénmò)
沉沉 (chénchén)
沉浸 (chénjìn)
沉浮 (chénfú)
沉淪 / 沉沦 (chénlún)
沉湖 (Chénhú)
沉湎 (chénmiǎn)
沉渣 (chénzhā)
沉湎淫逸
沉溺 (chénnì)
沉滯 / 沉滞 (chénzhì)
沉漸剛克 / 沉渐刚克
沉潛剛克 / 沉潜刚克
沉澱 / 沉淀 (chéndiàn)
沉灶產蛙 / 沉灶产蛙
沉甸甸
沉痛 (chéntòng)
沉痼 (chéngù)
沉痾 / 沉疴 (chénkē)
沉眠 (chénmián)
沉睡 (chénshuì)
沉積 / 沉积 (chénjī)
沉積作用 / 沉积作用
沉積岩 / 沉积岩 (chénjīyán)
沉積物 / 沉积物 (chénjīwù)
沉穩 / 沉稳 (chénwěn)
沉箱 (chénxiāng)
沉綿 / 沉绵 (chénmián)
沉脈 / 沉脉
沉舟破釜
沉菜
沉著 (chénzhuó)
沉著痛快
沉落 (chénluò)
沉迷 (chénmí)
沉遠 / 沉远
沉邃
沉酣 (chénhān)
沉醉 (chénzuì)
沉重 (chénzhòng)
沉重寡言
沉重少言
沉降 (chénjiàng)
沉陰 / 沉阴
沉陷 (chénxiàn)
沉雄 (chénxióng)
沉雄古逸
沉靜 / 沉静 (chénjìng)
沉靜少言 / 沉静少言
沉香 (chénxiāng)
沉鬱 / 沉郁 (chényù)
沉鬱頓挫 / 沉郁顿挫
沉魚落雁 / 沉鱼落雁 (chényúluòyàn)
沉默 (chénmò)
沉默寡言 (chénmòguǎyán)
沉默是金 (chénmò shì jīn)
浮沉 (fúchén)
消沉 (xiāochén)
浮沉船塢 / 浮沉船坞
浮沉酒醆 / 浮沉酒盏
浮瓜沉李
海相沉積 / 海相沉积
浮石沉木
深沉 (shēnchén)
淹沉
湮沉
玄石沉湎
玉石同沉
玉碎珠沉
珠沉滄海 / 珠沉沧海
珠沉玉沒 / 珠沉玉没
珠沉玉碎
珠沉璧碎
石沉大海 (shíchéndàhǎi)
破釜沉舟 (pòfǔchénzhōu)
破釜沉船
碧沉沉
神州陸沉 / 神州陆沉 (shénzhōulùchén)
積羽沉舟 / 积羽沉舟
缾沉簪折 / 瓶沉簪折
耳沉 (ěrchén)
聽沉 / 听沉
與世沉浮 / 与世沉浮
與世浮沉 / 与世浮沉
與時浮沉 / 与时浮沉
船沉鉅鹿 / 船沉巨鹿
落雁沉魚 / 落雁沉鱼
載沉載浮 / 载沉载浮
轟沉 / 轰沉
鉤沉 / 钩沉 (gōuchén)
銀質沉著 / 银质沉著
鐵鎖沉江 / 铁锁沉江
閉目沉思 / 闭目沉思
陰沉 / 阴沉 (yīnchén)
陸沉 / 陆沉 (lùchén)
陰沉木 / 阴沉木
陰沉沉 / 阴沉沉
陸相沉積 / 陆相沉积
陰陰沉沉 / 阴阴沉沉
隨世沉浮 / 随世沉浮
隨俗沉浮 / 随俗沉浮
隨俗浮沉 / 随俗浮沉
雁杳魚沉 / 雁杳鱼沉 (yànyǎoyúchén)
飛沉 / 飞沉
香銷玉沉 / 香销玉沉
體沉 / 体沉
鬱沉沉 / 郁沉沉
魚沉 / 鱼沉
魚沉雁杳 / 鱼沉雁杳 (yúchényànyǎo)
魚沉雁渺 / 鱼沉雁渺
魚沉雁落 / 鱼沉雁落
魚雁沉沉 / 鱼雁沉沉
黑沉沉

References

“沉”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
莆田市荔城区档案馆 [Putian City Licheng District Archives], editor (2022), “沉”, in 莆仙方言文读字汇 [Puxian Dialect Literary Reading Dictionary] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), page 29.

Japanese

Kanji

沉

(Hyōgai kanji)

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Readings

Go-on: しん (shin)^{←しむ (simu, historical)}、じん (jin)^{←ぢむ (dimu, historical)}
Kan-on: しん (shin)^{←しむ (simu, historical)}、ちん (chin)^{←ちむ (timu, historical)}
Kun: しずむ (shizumu, 沉む)、しずめる (shizumeru, 沉める)

Korean

Hanja

沉 • (chim, sim) (hangeul 침, 심, revised chim, sim, McCune–Reischauer ch'im, sim, Yale chim, sim)

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

沉: Hán Nôm readings: tròm, chằm, chìm, đắm, đẫm, ngằm, ngầm, trằm, trầm, đẵm

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.