Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements

沈: sink, be submerged

Also: subside, be depressed, aloes

JLPT N27 strokesSecondary schoolYour ink: 白 Not met

氵 carries the meaning · 冘 gives the sound

7 strokes

Three readings, and the words that use each

チンchin · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 沈着冷静なちんちゃくれいせいなcalm, composed, cool
  • 沈黙するちんもくするbe silent
  • 沈没するちんぼつするsink, founder, go to the bottom
  • 沈下するちんかするsink, subside
  • 沈滞するちんたいするstagnate, be inactive
  • 沈静するちんせいするdie down, settle down
  • 沈思黙考するちんしもっこうするbe sunk in deep thought

しずむshizumu · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 沈むしずむsink, feel depressed [v.i.]

しずめるshizumeru · kun'yomi

  • 沈めるしずめるsink, submerge [v.t.]

Also read ジン, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.

Learn it 4 steps
Print sheet Present
成り立ち

Where it comes from

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Imagine three raindrops falling—that's sanzui! Whenever you see these three dots on the left side of a kanji, think of water, liquids, or anything that flows.”
More in the 氵 water story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
氵

Also built on water (氵)

All 125
冘

Also built on 冘

Also read チン

10 kanji share this on'yomi

Also read ジン

14 kanji share this on'yomiAll 14

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
沈 sink · 氵
vs枕 pillow · 木
沈 has 氵 where 枕 has 木.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · shěn, chén

Same form: 沈 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).

Simplified
沈 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
沈 Taiwan, Hong Kong

Pinyin shěn, chén most common readings

Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.

One click tells us. No sign-up.