How to Write 渗 (shèn) — Meaning “To seep or leak”

Imagine water (氵) slowly dripping through a sieve or '參' (which looks like a dropper) — the drops 'seep' through tiny holes. This visual helps link the sound 'shèn' to the action of liquids slowly leaking.

The left radical 氵 should be written as three dots, with the second dot slightly lower than the first. The right part 参 has a balanced structure — keep the top 'ㄙ' compact and the bottom '彡' evenly spaced so the character doesn't look tilted.

Unlike 渗 (to seep), 洁 (jié) means 'clean' and uses the water radical with 吉. 洄 (huí) means 'whirlpool' or 'go back' and combines water with 回. Visually, 渗's right side is 参 (with a 'big' top part), while 洁 has a compact '士' and 口, and 洄 has a closed '口' inside a larger frame.

渗 appears in words like 渗透 (infiltrate, often used in politics or science) and 渗漏 (leakage, for pipes or roofs). It describes slow, gradual movement of liquids or ideas, but is less common in everyday speech and more frequent in technical or formal writing.

Common words containing 渗 include: 渗透 (shèn tòu) — To permeate or infiltrate; 渗漏 (shèn lòu) — Seepage or leakage; 渗出 (shèn chū) — To seep out or ooze.