黯 (àn) · deep dark; gloomy

Meanings

1 deep dark; gloomy
2 dim; sombre; lustreless
3 dejected; downcast

Characters

黯

àn

gloomy; dim

Examples

HSK 5

丈夫去世后，她过着黯淡的生活。

Zhàngfu qùshì hòu, tā guò zhe àndàn de shēnghuó.

After her husband's death she lived a withdrawn and joyless life.

HSK 7-9

听到坏消息，他黯然神伤。

Tīngdào huài xiāoxi, tā ànrán-shénshāng.

Hearing the bad news, he was inconsolably crushed.

HSK 7-9

昏暗的路灯让小巷显得黯然凄凉。

Hūn'àn de lùdēng ràng xiǎoxiàng xiǎnde ànrán qīliáng.

The dim streetlamps gave the alley an air of desolation.

Tips

usage

àn is bound - it always appears with a partner. Two compound families. (1) Visual dimness: 黯淡 (dim, lustreless - of light, colour, prospects), 昏暗 (dim, murky - note this is the synonym 暗 not 黯). (2) Emotional gloom: 黯然 (dejected, downcast - adverbial; the workhorse compound), 黯然失色 (pale by comparison, eclipsed), 黯然神伤 (heart-stricken, low-spirited), 黯然销魂 (dispirited to the depths of one's soul - from Jiang Yan's 《别赋》).

mistakes

Don't confuse 黯 (this entry, 'gloomy', 21 strokes) with 暗 ('dark', 13 strokes). Same pronunciation, overlapping meanings. Quick rule: 暗 is the everyday word for 'dark / hidden / secret' - 黑暗, 暗号. 黯 is reserved for emotional darkness and lustreless colour, mostly in literary compounds. If the topic is mood or fading splendour, prefer 黯; otherwise reach for 暗.

Components

radical

黑 hēi

black

Left black radical (Kangxi #203). The semantic anchor: 黯 starts from physical darkness and extends to dim colour, faded splendour, and emotional gloom. Same radical groups 黝 (dark green-black), 默 (silent - going dark), 黛 (dark blue-black eyebrow pigment).

phonetic

音 yīn

sound; supplying the sound

Right phonetic 音 - supplies the sound (yīn → àn, an irregular but attested shift in the same phonetic family). The same phonetic anchors 暗 (dark - the everyday synonym), 谙 (familiar with), 鹌 (quail). Recognising 音 as a sound-bearer for àn unlocks the family.