verb / adjective HSK 4
to sink · to submerge · heavy · deep
Meaning
沉 fundamentally means to sink or descend in water, but has extended to describe anything heavy, deep, or profound. It appears in many compounds describing weight (both physical and emotional), depth, silence, and immersion.
Usage
沉 rarely appears alone in modern speech; it typically combines with other characters to form words like 沉重 (heavy), 沉默 (silent), or 沉迷 (addicted). When used alone as a verb, it means something is literally sinking. The character carries connotations of seriousness and gravity.
Examples
- 01这艘船在风暴中沉了。.This ship sank in the storm.
- 02他陷入了深深的沉思。.He fell into deep contemplation.
Common collocations
- 沉船sunken ship, shipwreck
- 沉思to ponder deeply
- 沉睡to sleep deeply
- 下沉to sink down
Antonyms
Origin
The character combines the water radical 氵(water) with 冘, which originally depicted something sinking downward. The water radical makes the meaning of sinking in water explicit.