淫 (yín) is a Chinese character meaning “excessive”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 爫 (claw; a hand reaching down from above) and 壬 (ninth heavenly stem), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “excessive”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 爫 + 壬
Left–right structure
- 氵 water (left-side form) · shuǐ meaning
- 爫 claw; a hand reaching down from above · zhǎo unknown
- 壬 ninth heavenly stem · rén unknown
Structure from: 说文解字: 淫，侵淫随理也。从水㸒声；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（氵3 + 爫4 + 壬4）
Memory aid
A hand (爫) keeps pouring water (氵) down onto 壬 — far more than is needed. 淫 is about excess: going past proper limits.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 淫秽yín huìobscene; pornographic淫 = yín
- 淫雨yín yǔprolonged excessive rain淫 = yín
Go deeper
All readings
excessive; licentious
excessive; wanton; licentious; obscene
过多、过度；放纵，特指不正当的男女关系。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 淫秽yín huìobscene; pornographic淫 = yín
- 淫雨yín yǔprolonged excessive rain淫 = yín
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 淫 mean?
淫 (yín) means excessive; wanton; licentious; obscene.
How do you pronounce 淫?
It is pronounced yín.
What parts is 淫 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 爫 (claw; a hand reaching down from above) and 壬 (ninth heavenly stem), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 淫，侵淫随理也。从水㸒声；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（氵3 + 爫4 + 壬4）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 淫 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 淫?
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 淫?
Common ones are 淫秽 and 淫雨. The reading of 淫 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.