阴沉 (yīn chén) — (of weather) overcast, gloomy; (of a person's expression) sullen, morose; (of a person's character) quiet and scheming, dark

Definition

An adjective (often used as a verb-like stative) describing a heavy, oppressive gloom — overcast skies, a sullen face, or a quietly scheming personality. Here it sits between a dark sky and a dark mood: one word covers all three.

verb
(of weather) overcastgloomy(of a person's expression) sullenmorose(of a person's character) quiet and schemingdark

Examples

  • 阴沉，。
    Jīn tiān yì zhěng tiān dōu yīn chén zhe, méi yǒu chū tài yáng.
    It's been overcast all day — the sun hasn't come out.
  • 阴沉，。
    Tā yīn chén zhuó liǎn, kàn qǐ lái hěn shēng qì.
    He's got a sullen face and looks very angry.
  • ，阴沉。
    Bié kàn tā biǎo miàn kè qi, qí shí xìng gé shí fēn yīn chén.
    Don't let his polite appearance fool you — his personality is actually quite dark and calculating.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

阴yīndark/cloudy
沉chénheavy/sunken

阴 as dark and 沉 as heavy combine to mean overcast or sullen.

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 →
Appears in
Personality & TraitsWeather

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