染

rǎn

木 + 氿

HSK 2.0Level 6

HSK 3.0Level 6

Definitions

rǎn (verb) to dye; to color

rǎn (verb) to contaminate; to infect

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 杂 represents the sound.

About

The character 染 originally depicted the dyeing of textiles. It combines the water radical 氵 (shuǐ), indicating the liquid dye, with 九 (jiǔ, nine) and 木 (mù, wood). The element 九 suggests the repeated immersions needed to fix the color, while 木 points to the plant sources of natural dyes. Over time, the meaning extended from the literal dyeing process to figurative notions of contamination, such as picking up a habit, contracting an illness, or being influenced by a negative environment.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

她染了红指甲。

Tā rǎn le hóng zhǐjia.

She dyed her nails red.

这件衣服容易染色。

Zhè jiàn yīfu róngyì rǎnsè.

This piece of clothing stains easily.

他感染了感冒。

Tā gǎnrǎn le gǎnmào.

He caught a cold.

河流被污染了。

Héliú bèi wūrǎn le.

The river was polluted.

环境污染很严重。

Huánjìng wūrǎn hěn yánzhòng.

Environmental pollution is very serious.

他的笑容感染了大家。

Tā de xiàoróng gǎnrǎn le dàjiā.

His smile infected everyone.

为了避免感染病毒，我们要洗手。

Wèile bìmiǎn gǎnrǎn bìngdú, wǒmen yào xǐ shǒu.

To avoid virus infection, we must wash our hands.

这种新型染料能染出鲜艳的颜色。

Zhè zhǒng xīnxíng rǎnliào néng rǎn chū xiānyàn de yánsè.

This new type of dye can dye bright colors.

Related Characters

Component: 木

染