湮

yān, yīn

垔 + 氵

Definitions

yān (literary) to sink into oblivion; (literary) to silt up; Taiwan pr. [yīn]

yīn variant of 洇[yīn]

Etymology

A dammed 垔 stream 氵; 垔 also provides the pronunciation

About

The phono-semantic character 湮 combines the water radical 氵 with 垔, which means "dam" or "blockage" and also provides the pronunciation. This gives the picture of a dammed stream, yielding its original meaning: to be submerged, flooded, or washed away by rising water. Over time, this physical sense of drowning evolved into a vivid metaphor for things, historical events, ancient knowledge, forgotten figures, sinking into total obscurity, buried by the passage of time like objects lost beneath floodwaters.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

沙土湮没了古城。

Shātǔ yānmòle gǔchéng.

Sand buried the ancient city.

这场大火几乎湮灭了所有证据。

Zhè chǎng dàhuǒ jīhū yānmièle suǒyǒu zhèngjù.

This fire almost obliterated all evidence.

他的功绩没有被历史湮没。

Tā de gōngjì méiyǒu bèi lìshǐ yānmò.

His achievements have not been buried by history.

岁月的流逝湮没了许多记忆。

Suìyuè de liúshì yānmòle xǔduō jìyì.

The passage of time has obliterated many memories.

在时间的长河中，一切都会渐渐湮灭。

Zài shíjiān de chánghé zhōng, yīqiè dōu huì jiànjiàn yānmiè.

In the long river of time, everything will gradually vanish.

由于缺乏记录，那段历史早已湮没无闻。

Yóuyú quēfá jìlù, nà duàn lìshǐ zǎo yǐ yānmò wúwén.

Due to lack of records, that period of history has long been forgotten.

这种粒子在碰撞中会迅速湮灭。

Zhè zhǒng lìzǐ zài pèngzhuàng zhōng huì xùnsù yānmiè.

This kind of particle will annihilate rapidly in collisions.

尽管努力保存，这些古籍仍难免湮失在战乱之中。

Jǐnguǎn nǔlì bǎocún, zhèxiē gǔjí réng nánmiǎn yānshī zài zhànluàn zhī zhōng.

Despite efforts to preserve them, these ancient books still inevitably vanished in the chaos of war.

Related Characters

Component: 垔

Component: 氵

湮