浅 (qiǎn) · shallow (water/depth)

Meanings

1 shallow (water/depth)
2 light (color); pale
3 superficial; simple

Characters

浅

qiǎn

shallow; light (color); superficial

Examples

HSK 3

这条河很浅，可以走过去。

Zhè tiáo hé hěn qiǎn, kěyǐ zǒu guòqù.

This river is very shallow; you can walk across.

HSK 3

我对这个问题的了解很浅。

Wǒ duì zhège wèntí de liǎojiě hěn qiǎn.

My understanding of this issue is superficial.

HSK 4

她穿了一件浅蓝色的裙子。

Tā chuān le yí jiàn qiǎn lánsè de qúnzi.

She wore a light blue dress.

Tips

usage

浅 is the opposite of 深 (deep). Both work for physical and figurative depth: 浅色 (light color) versus 深色 (dark color); 浅显 (easy to grasp) versus 深刻 (profound).

register

A literary reading jiān describes the sound of flowing water, mostly in the doubled form 浅浅 in classical poetry. In all everyday use the character is read qiǎn.

Components

radical

氵 shuǐ

water

Water radical on the left; the original sense was water of little depth. From shallow water came the metaphorical shallow for color (light or pale), knowledge (superficial), and acquaintance (slight). The radical anchors 浅 in the family of liquid-quality adjectives alongside its antonym 深 (deep) and 清, 浓.

phonetic

戋 jiān

small; few (here phonetic)

Right component supplies the sound, with consonant drift jiān to qiǎn. The unsimplified form stacked two 戈 spears whose collision meant few or small. Modern 戋 keeps the small-quantity flavour: small water equals shallow water. Same phonetic recurs in 钱 (money), 贱 (cheap), 践 (tread), a tight qian/jian family.