Skip to content

淹

yān
HSK 3.0 Level 6 Verb Uncommon

Sign in to save this word to your study lists.

Definitions

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

Character focus

Stroke order

11 strokes

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item
旱
hàn

drought

与水淹相对的干旱

Register variants

1 item
溺
nì

to drown

书面语，指淹没在水中，常用于溺水

Related words

1 item
浸泡
jìn pào

to steep

浸在液体中，但通常程度较淹轻

Synonyms

1 item
淹没
yān mò

to submerge

表示被水覆盖或沉入水中

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
yān mò

to submerge

淹博
yān bó

widely read

淹死
yān sǐ

to drown

淹水
yān shuǐ

to be flooded

淹灭
yān miè

to submerge

淹灌
yān guàn

basin irrigation (e.g. paddy fields)

淹留
yān liú

to stay for a long period

淹盖
yān gài

to submerge

淹头搭脑
yān tóu dā nǎo

listless

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