淹 (yān) — to flood; to submerge; to drown; to irritate or sting (of liquids, e.g. sweat in the eyes)
Definition
淹 (yān) covers both water flooding something and a person drowning — broader than 沉 (which is mainly sinking, not flooding land). The third sense is a liquid stinging or irritating (eyes, skin).
verb
to floodto submergeto drownto irritate or sting (of liquids, e.g. sweat in the eyes)
Easily confused
Examples
- 淹。Bào yǔ zhī hòu hěn duō nóng tián dōu bèi yān le.After the heavy rain, many farmlands were flooded.
- ，。Tā bú huì yóu yǒng, chà diǎn bèi hé shuǐ yān sǐ.He can't swim and almost drowned in the river.
- 淹。Pǎo bù shí hàn shuǐ yān dé yǎn jing hěn bù shū fu.When running, sweat stung my eyes and made them very uncomfortable.
Appears in
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