深深 (shēn shēn) — deeply, profoundly, sincerely

Definition

A reduplicated bound adverb intensifying 深 ('deep'): used before verbs like 爱, 相信, 吸气 to mean 'deeply, sincerely' or 'deeply, fully' (e.g. 深吸一口气). It modifies the verb and never stands alone.

bound form

deeplyprofoundlysincerely

Examples

深深。
Wǒ shēn shēn ài tā.
I deeply love her.
深深。
Wǒ shēn shēn xiāng xìn nǐ de huà.
I deeply believe your words.
深深。
Tā shēn shēn xī le yì kǒu qì.
He took a deep breath.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

深shēndeep

深 means deep; repeating 深 intensifies it to very deeply or profoundly.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

𥥍

𥥍𥥍深shēn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

深 is built from 氵, the side form of 水 “water”, and 𥥍, which supplies the sound.

Open 深 →