沉 (chén) is a Chinese character meaning “to sink”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 冘 (yín — an old character, today seen mainly as the right-hand sound part of 沈, 枕, 耽), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to sink”
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Structure
氵 + 冘
Left–right structure
- 氵 water (left-side form) · shuǐ meaning
- 冘 yín — an old character, today seen mainly as the right-hand sound part of 沈, 枕, 耽 · yín sound
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：7 画 = 氵 3 画 + 冘 4 画，右侧四笔的起讫方向与 冘 独立字形逐笔对应；部首取康熙 85 水部；声符身份依据 冘 系同族字 沈/枕/耽，读音关系按实测现代读音判定（冘 yín / 沉 chén，声母韵母均不同，判为 diverged）
Memory aid
Water (氵) on the left, and on the right 冘 — a little roof (冖) pressing down on a pair of legs (儿). Something weighted down under the water: it sinks. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 沉沦chén lúnto sink into (a bad state)沉 = chén
- 昏沉hūn chéngroggy; muddled and heavy-headed沉 = chén
- 沉浸chén jìnto be immersed in; to be absorbed in沉 = chén
- 沉淀chén diànsediment; to settle to the bottom; to precipitate沉 = chén
Go deeper
All readings
to sink
to sink; to submerge; heavy; deep (of sleep, silence)
沉入水中；分量重；程度深（如睡得沉）。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 沉沦chén lúnto sink into (a bad state)沉 = chén
- 昏沉hūn chéngroggy; muddled and heavy-headed沉 = chén
- 沉浸chén jìnto be immersed in; to be absorbed in沉 = chén
- 沉淀chén diànsediment; to settle to the bottom; to precipitate沉 = chén
Sound component
冘 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 沉 mean?
沉 (chén) means to sink; to submerge; heavy; deep (of sleep, silence).
How do you pronounce 沉?
It is pronounced chén.
What parts is 沉 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 冘 (yín — an old character, today seen mainly as the right-hand sound part of 沈, 枕, 耽), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：7 画 = 氵 3 画 + 冘 4 画，右侧四笔的起讫方向与 冘 独立字形逐笔对应；部首取康熙 85 水部；声符身份依据 冘 系同族字 沈/枕/耽，读音关系按实测现代读音判定（冘 yín / 沉 chén，声母韵母均不同，判为 diverged）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 沉 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 沉?
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 沉?
Common ones are 沉沦. The reading of 沉 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.