沦 (lún) — (bound form) to sink into, to fall into (ruin, oblivion, enemy hands, etc.)

Definition

A bound (书面) morph meaning 'to sink / fall into (ruin)', almost always paired with 陷, 落, or 为 — never used alone. Register is formal/written, far more literary than everyday 'fall' (掉).

bound form
to sink intoto fall into (ruin, oblivion, enemy hands, etc.)

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè zuò chéng shì zài zhàn zhēng zhōng lún xiàn le.
    This city fell to the enemy during the war.
  • 。
    Tā yīn wèi xī dú ér lún luò dào jiē tóu qǐ tǎo.
    He ended up begging on the streets because of drug addiction.
  • 。
    Céng jīng de shǒu fù rú jīn lún wéi jiē xià qiú.
    The former richest man has now degenerated into a prisoner.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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 淪; 沦 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
侖
侖lún淪lún
Same sound today

The traditional form 淪 has 水 for water and 侖 for the sound lún; the simplified 沦 is a shorthand.

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