淹 yān to drown
to drown; to immerse; to steep; to flood; to submerge
How to remember 淹: 氵 water + 奄 cover all = to drown. The storm water rises and threatens to cover all the fields, so the family carries the hens upstairs before the flood comes to drown them.
Component breakdown
淹 = 氵 water + 奄 cover all
- 氵 water
- 奄 cover all
The storm water rises and threatens to cover all the fields, so the family carries the hens upstairs before the flood comes to drown them.
How it is used
- To flood/submerge/drown - 淹没 (yānmò) to submerge/inundate, 被水淹 flooded by water.
- 淹死 (yānsǐ) = to drown; 淹 conveys being overwhelmed by water.
- Figurative 'to be drowned out/buried': 被淹没在人海中 lost in a sea of people.
- Distinct from 泡 (to soak deliberately) - 淹 is unwanted submersion.