淹

yān

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Verb Uncommon

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Definitions

1. to flood
2. to submerge
3. to drown
4. to irritate the skin (of liquids)
5. to delay

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Character focus

Stroke order

11 strokes

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Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 旱 hàn 旱 hàn drought 与水淹相对的干旱: drought

Register variants

1 item

• 溺 nì 溺 nì to drown 书面语，指淹没在水中，常用于溺水: to drown

Related words

1 item

• 浸泡 jìn pào 浸泡 jìn pào to steep 浸在液体中，但通常程度较淹轻: to steep

Synonyms

1 item

• 淹没 yān mò 淹没 yān mò to submerge 表示被水覆盖或沉入水中: to submerge

Usage notes

Collocations

When 淹 is used with objects, it is often paired with 死 to indicate drowning, as in 淹死 (drown).

Example Sentences

2 shown

大雨 淹 了整条街。

The heavy rain flooded the entire street.

這個島嶼即將被 淹 沒。

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 6316772)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 淹

• 淹没 淹没 yān mò: to submerge
• 淹博 淹博 yān bó: widely read
• 淹死 淹死 yān sǐ: to drown
• 淹水 淹水 yān shuǐ: to be flooded
• 淹灭 淹灭 yān miè: to submerge
• 淹灌 淹灌 yān guàn: basin irrigation (e.g. paddy fields)
• 淹留 淹留 yān liú: to stay for a long period
• 淹盖 淹盖 yān gài: to submerge
• 淹头搭脑 淹头搭脑 yān tóu dā nǎo: listless
• 范仲淹 范仲淹 fàn zhòng yān: Fan Zhongyan (989-1052), minister of Northern Song who led the failed reform of 1043, author of On Yueyang Tower 岳陽樓記|岳阳楼记