How to Write 洇 (yīn) — Meaning “To soak in; to spread (of ink or liquid).”

Imagine a drop of ink (因) falling into water (氵) and spreading out like a stain. The shape of 因 even looks like a small puddle or blot spreading on paper.

Keep the water radical narrow on the left, with the three dots aligned vertically. The right part 因 must be balanced — the outer box should not be too wide, and the inner 大 should be centered so the whole character is 9 strokes total.

洇 focuses on soaking or spreading of liquid/ink, while 㳄 (also yán, rare) means "saliva" or "drool" and has a different right component. 汧 (qiān) refers to the name of a river and has 开 as its right part — visually, 洇's right side is 因 (a full enclosure), not 欠 or 开.

洇 is often used in calligraphy or art contexts to describe ink spreading on paper (洇开), or to say something is damp or soaked (洇湿). It's not common in daily conversation but appears in technical descriptions of ink behavior or fabric staining.

Common words containing 洇 include: 洇湿 (yīn shī) — To be soaked; to become damp.; 洇开 (yīn kāi) — To spread out (of ink on paper).; 洇染 (yīn rǎn) — To blot; to spread and dye..