About
The character "沾" originates from a concept related to moisture, with its earliest core meaning being to moisten, soak, or be stained by a liquid, a sense clearly indicated by its water radical (氵). Its phonetic component, 占, while primarily providing sound, may also loosely imply a process of coming into contact or spreading. A notable traditional variant, 霑, replaces the water radical with that for rain (雨), offering a more vivid pictorial sense of being moistened by rainfall, which underscores the same fundamental idea. From this concrete notion of physical contact with liquid, the character's meaning broadened metaphorically to encompass the idea of acquiring something through contact or association, as seen in the common word 沾光, meaning to benefit from association with someone else's influence or success. This semantic extension from a physical state to an abstract condition of partaking or sharing represents the primary evolution in the character's application over time.
Example Sentences Hide
雨水沾湿了衣服。
别让油漆沾到手。
他沾了朋友的光。
这本书沾点历史。
她的裙子沾上了泥巴。
这种做法沾了违法的边。
他的成功沾了时代的光。
沾染不良习惯会影响一生。