沉 is also the simplified spelling of 沈.
DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
沉
Mandarin · pinyin chén
Meanings
- to submerge
- to immerse
- to sink
- to keep down
- to lower
- to drop
- deep
- profound
- heavy
Characters in this entry
- 沉
- chén · sink, submerge; addicted to
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
2 · chen2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link28same-tone records
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
cam4 · zam6
Cantonese word readings for 沉. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character
- to sink; to submerge (into water)
- to fall; to sink; to subside
- to settle; to make sink
- to suppress; to stifle; to neglect
- to be neglected
- to indulge in; to be given to
- to hide; to be hidden
- heavy; weighty
- dark; gloomy
- deep; profound
- long (duration); prolonged; lengthy
- deeply; profoundly
- (Cantonese) alternative form of 浸 (zam6, “to drown”)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack