阴沉沉 (yīn chén chén) — gloomy, overcast (of the sky or weather); sullen, somber (of a person's expression or mood)

Definition

A vivid reduplicated adjective (note the 的 after it) meaning 'gloomy and heavy' — used for overcast skies, dim rooms, or a sullen expression or mood.

bound form
gloomyovercast (of the sky or weather)sullensomber (of a person's expression or mood)

Examples

  • 阴沉沉，。
    Tiān kōng yīn chén chén de, hǎo xiàng yào xià yǔ le.
    The sky is heavily overcast, as if it's going to rain.
  • 阴沉沉，。
    Tā jīn tiān liǎn sè yīn chén chén de, shuí dōu bù gǎn gēn tā shuō huà.
    His expression was gloomy today, and no one dared to talk to him.
  • ，阴沉沉。
    Wū lǐ guāng xiàn hěn àn, qì fen yīn chén chén de.
    The room was dimly lit, and the atmosphere was oppressive.

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.

阴沉gloomy
阴yīncloudy沉chénheavy
联合Side by side
沉chénheavy

阴沉 combines 阴 for cloudy and 沉 for heavy, with another 沉 adding a lingering heaviness.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 陰; 阴 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
侌
侌yīn陰yīn
Same sound today

The traditional form 陰 combines 阜, the meaning part, with 侌, the sound part. The simplified 阴 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 阴 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 沉 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 沉 →

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