How to Write 潺 (chán) — Meaning “gurgling sound of water”

Imagine a small stream (氵) where two children (孱 contains two 子, meaning 'child') are splashing and making a soft 'chan-chan' sound. The double 子 helps you recall the doubled sound in 潺潺. Think of the children's playful whispers as the gurgling of water.

Write the three water dots (氵) first, then the right part 孱. The right side has three main sections: top is 尸 (three strokes), then two 子 stacked (each three strokes). Keep the left radical narrow and the right side wider. Common mistake: making the two 子 too large — they should be compact so the character stays balanced.

潺 focuses on the sound of flowing water (gurgling), while 溏 means a pond or muddy water, and 源 means a water source or origin. Visually, 潺 has the right component 孱, 溏 has 唐, and 源 has 原. The different right parts change both meaning and pronunciation completely.

潺 appears almost exclusively in the reduplicated form 潺潺 to describe the gentle, continuous sound of a stream or small waterfall. It is a literary and poetic word, not used in everyday conversation. You might see it in nature descriptions or classical poetry to create a calm, peaceful atmosphere.

Common words containing 潺 include: 潺潺 (chán chán) — murmuring or gurgling (of a stream); 溪水潺潺 (xī shuǐ chán chán) — the babbling of a stream; 流水潺潺 (liú shuǐ chán chán) — gurgling water / murmuring stream.