About
The character for "abyss" or "deep pool", originally depicted in its traditional form as 淵, visually conveys its core meaning through a structure that encloses elements within a representation of water. This composition, with its water radical positioned both to the left and right of the central components, creates an intuitive pictogram of a confined, deep body of water. Etymologically, it stems from an early conception of a watery chasm or a whirlpool, a sense preserved in classical texts where it describes physical depth. Over centuries, its application broadened from this concrete natural feature to encompass abstract qualities, such as profundity of knowledge or thought, reflecting a conceptual shift where depth became a metaphor for intellectual or spiritual expanse. The simplified form, 渊, retains the water radical on the left but streamlines the right-hand side, maintaining the essential semantic link to water while altering the specific pictorial symmetry of its predecessor.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
这潭水非常深。
他的知识很渊博。
他们探讨了哲学的深渊。
这两个家族有着深厚的渊源。
他的理论体系极为渊深，常人难以理解。
这位学者在古典文学领域造诣渊深。
两国的文化交往源远流长，渊源有自。
要想洞悉事件的本质，必须进行渊深的思考和分析。