Explore 沈 in water, sunset and mood, then meet it in the compound 沈黙.

The idea

沈 has 7 strokes; follow the linked diagram. 沈む（しずむ） means to sink or set, 沈める（しずめる） means to sink something, and 沈黙（ちんもく） means silence.

Patterns to compare
WordReadingExample in context
沈むしずむThe boat sank into the sea.
沈めるしずめるHe sank the weight in the water.
沈黙ちんもくThe venue was enveloped in silence for a while.

Examples

  • 石いしが水みずの底そこに沈しずみました。The stone sank to the bottom of the water.
  • 船ふねが海うみに沈しずみました。The boat sank into the sea.
  • 夕日ゆうひが山やまの向むこうに沈しずみました。The setting sun sank behind the mountains.
  • 悪わるい知しらせを聞きいて、気持きもちが沈しずみました。My spirits sank when I heard the bad news.
  • 彼かれはおもりを水みずに沈しずめました。He sank the weight in the water.
  • 会場かいじょうはしばらく沈黙ちんもくに包つつまれました。The venue was enveloped in silence for a while.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

沈む is intransitive: the thing that sinks takes が. 沈める is transitive: the thing someone sinks takes を. A sinking mood is figurative.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 沈む in hiragana.

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    しずむ

    沈む is しずむ: a boat can sink into the sea. Learn the verb with its ending.

  2. Write the reading of 沈黙 in hiragana.

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    ちんもく

    沈黙 is ちんもく: it means silence. The compound uses the reading ちん.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿黙（ちんもく）［沈／注］.

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    沈

    沈 completes 沈黙（ちんもく）, meaning silence; 注 is a different kanji.

Use it today

Write 沈 using the diagram, then cover the readings and make a sentence with 沈む.