How to Write 涔 (cén) — Meaning “overflowing; streaming (of sweat or tears)”

Imagine a person working hard in summer, saying 'I am sweating NOW (今) with water (氵) streaming down.' The 今 part can remind you of 'now' — the streaming is happening right at this moment. This links the character to its meaning of overflowing sweat or tears.

When writing 涔, the water radical on the left (氵) should be three dots written compactly, with the second dot slightly lower. The right part 今 has a flat top (人-like stroke), then a dot, then a horizontal stroke, and finally a curved hook — make sure the bottom hook is not too wide, as it often is in similar characters like 令.

涔 (cén) means 'overflowing' and has the right component 今 (jīn). 沫 (mò) means 'foam, froth' and has 末 (mò, end/tip) on the right — note the longer horizontal line at the top. 沭 (shù) is a river name and uses 术 (shù, art) — which has a dot above the vertical stroke. Visually, 涔’s right side is simpler with a top 'A'-like shape, while 沫 has a horizontal line across the top and 沭 has a dot above a vertical.

涔 is not common in daily conversation but appears in literary or descriptive writing. It is most often seen in the reduplicated form 涔涔 (cén cén), meaning 'streaming' (e.g., 汗涔涔 for 'dripping with sweat' or 泪涔涔 for 'tearful'). You might encounter it in novels or poetry to vividly describe perspiration or tears flowing down.

Common words containing 涔 include: 汗涔涔 (hàn cén cén) — sweaty / dripping with sweat; 泪涔涔 (lèi cén cén) — Tearful; 涔涔 (cén cén) — streaming; dripping; throbbing.