潸

shān

adverb #55,727

Meanings

1 tearfully
2 with flowing tears

Characters

潸

shān

tearfully

Examples

读着旧信，她不禁潸然泪下。

Dú zhe jiùxìn, tā bùjīn shānrán lèixià.

Reading the old letter, she could not help bursting into tears.

听到她要走，老人潸然落泪。

Tīngdào tā yào zǒu, lǎorén shānrán luòlèi.

At the news of her departure, the old man wept silently.

Tips

usage

You will almost only ever see 潸然泪下 — a set literary phrase for tears welling up suddenly and uncontrollably. 潸 on its own is not used in modern speech.

Components

radical

氵 shuǐ

water

Left-side water radical, the three-drop form of 水. Tears are water, so the whole 'weeping' meaning hangs on this radical.

phonetic

散 sàn

to scatter; (here) sound

The right side is an abbreviated 散 supplying the sound. 'To scatter' faintly fits too — tears scattering down a face.

Stroke Order

潸 shān

潸