淋 (lín) is a Chinese character meaning “to drench”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 林 (woods; grove (two trees side by side)), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to drench”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
氵 + 林
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字「淋，以水沃也。从水林聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵林，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–10 为「林」两个「木」（3+8=11画）
Memory aid
Water (氵) pouring down over the woods (林): every tree gets drenched — that is 淋, to soak or pour on.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 淋雨lín yǔto get soaked in the rain淋 = lín
- 淋浴lín yùshower (bath)淋 = lín
Go deeper
All readings
to drench; to pour
to drench; to soak; to pour or sprinkle (liquid) on
水或别的液体从上往下落在物体上；浇。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 淋雨lín yǔto get soaked in the rain淋 = lín
- 淋浴lín yùshower (bath)淋 = lín
Rare readings, not taught: lìn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 淋 mean?
淋 (lín) means to drench; to soak; to pour or sprinkle (liquid) on.
How do you pronounce 淋?
It is pronounced lín.
What parts is 淋 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 林 (woods; grove (two trees side by side)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「淋，以水沃也。从水林聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵林，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–10 为「林」两个「木」（3+8=11画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 淋 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 淋?
氵. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 淋?
Common ones are 淋雨 and 淋浴. The reading of 淋 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.