shèn
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 giant clam
  2. 2 clam-monster said to breathe out mirages (mythology)

Examples

Hǎimiàn shàng chūxiàn de shì hǎishìshènlóu, bìngfēi zhēn chéng.
What appeared over the sea was a mirage, not a real city.
Chuánshuō dà shèn tǔ qì, huà chū xūhuàn de lóutái.
Legend says the giant clam-monster exhales a vapor that forms phantom towers.

Tips

culture
is a giant clam, and in myth a clam-monster whose breath forms illusory buildings. This gives the famous 海市蜃楼 (mirage, literally "sea-market clam-tower").

Components

radical
chóng
insect; small creature
Bottom-right is the radical for small creatures, covering shellfish and molluscs, here the giant clam .
phonetic
chén
5th earthly branch (here phonetic)
Top-left is the phonetic element; the sound shifted from chén to shèn. It wraps over the top and left.

Stroke Order

shèn