How to Write 淹 (yān) — Meaning “to flood; to submerge; to drown”

Imagine that 奄 looks like a person wearing a big hat (the top part) standing in water (氵). The water rises and covers their head — that is 淹, meaning 'to flood or submerge.'

Pay attention to the right part 奄: it has a long horizontal stroke at the top, then a vertical stroke, then a smaller horizontal, then a vertical, then two horizontals, and finally a vertical hook at the bottom. A common mistake is making the left water radical too big — keep it narrow and shorter than the right side.

The right part of each character is different: 淹 has 奄 (meaning 'to cover'), 洁 has 吉 (meaning 'luck' or 'clean'), and 洄 has 回 (meaning 'return'). Visually, 淹 is about water covering, 洁 is about cleanliness, and 洄 is about water flowing back.

淹 is commonly used in words about flooding, like 淹水 (to be flooded) and 淹没 (to submerge or drown out). You might see it in weather reports or news about heavy rain, and also metaphorically, like 声音被淹没 (sound is drowned out by noise).

Common words containing 淹 include: 淹没 (yān mò) — to submerge; to drown out; to inundate; 淹死 (yān sǐ) — to drown; 淹水 (yān shuǐ) — to flood; to be flooded.