淫 (yín) — (bound form) excessive, overflowing; (bound form) licentious, lewd, obscene
Definition
A bound morpheme with two main uses: 'excessive / overflowing' (as in 淫雨 relentless rain) and 'lewd / obscene' (as in 淫秽 obscene). It never stands alone and is used almost entirely inside compound words.
bound form
excessiveoverflowinglicentiouslewdobscene
Examples
- 淫。Zhè chǎng yín yǔ yǐ jīng xià le sān tiān.This continuous rain has been falling for three days.
- 。Wǎng luò shàng de yín huì nèi róng yīng gāi bèi jìn zhǐ.Obscene content online should be banned.
- ，淫。Tā làn yòng zhí quán, yín wēi bī pò xià shǔ.He abused his power and forced his subordinates through his despotic authority.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
㸒
㸒㸒淫yín
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The shape combines 氵 (the water form of 水) with 㸒, which supplies the sound.
Appears in
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