About
The character "陷" originally depicted a physical pit or cavity in the ground, a meaning derived directly from its structural composition which combines the阜 radical, indicating an earthen mound or terrain, on the left with the component臽on the right, which itself represents a person falling into a pit. This configuration visually conveys the concept of a terrain-based hazard. From this concrete foundation, its meaning broadened to encompass the act of falling into such a pit, and subsequently extended to any situation of being caught or ensnared, whether literally, as in a military encirclement, or metaphorically, as in being trapped by circumstances or accusations. The traditional form maintains the阜radical clearly, while the simplified version uses its common abbreviated form阝on the left, but the essential semantic core of a dangerous downfall or entrapment, both literal and figurative, has remained consistent throughout its historical usage.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
不要陷入困境。
小心地上的陷阱。
这个机器有缺陷。
他陷入了深深的思考。
城市陷于战火之中。
避免陷入同样的误区。
那段历史时期国家沦陷了。
他因陷害同事而被解雇。