About
The character 澹 combines the water semantic radical 氵 (shuǐ) with the phonetic 詹 (zhān). It originally refers to the tranquil, calm appearance of water: gentle rippling or the still surface of a lake or stream. This imagery naturally extends to human qualities, a serene state of mind, an unpretentious demeanor, or indifference to worldly desires, and the character is often used interchangeably with 淡 (dàn). In its structure, 澹 exploits the placid nature of water to symbolize both outer calmness and inner peace.
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