How to Write 淋 (lín/lìn) — Meaning “to drench; to pour; to sprinkle”

Picture a forest (林) being completely soaked by water (氵) from a heavy rainstorm. This image of water covering the trees helps you remember that 淋 means to drench or pour.

The left radical 氵 consists of three dots: the first two are close together, and the third is lower and slightly separated. On the right, 林 has two 木 (tree) characters; the left 木's final stroke changes to a dot so the character stays balanced.

洁 (jié) means clean or pure, using the same water radical but with 吉 (good luck); it is about cleanliness, not drenching. 洄 (huí) means to flow back, using 回 (return); unlike 淋, these characters do not involve being soaked by rain.

淋 appears in everyday weather phrases like 淋雨 (get caught in rain) and 淋湿 (get wet by rain). It is also used in the idiom 淋漓尽致 (lín lí jìn zhì) meaning vividly or thoroughly expressed, often describing writing, speech, or performance.

Common words containing 淋 include: 淋雨 (lín yǔ) — to get caught in the rain; 淋漓 (lín lí) — dripping wet; uninhibited (of writing or speech); 淋湿 (lín shī) — to get wet (by rain).