溅 (jiàn): to splash

Meanings

1 to splash
2 to spatter
3 to splatter

Characters

溅

jiàn

to splash; to spatter

Examples

HSK 5

油从锅里溅出来了。

Yóu cóng guō lǐ jiàn chūlái le.

Oil splashed out of the pan.

HSK 6

泥水溅了我一身。

Ní shuǐ jiàn le wǒ yìshēn.

Muddy water splashed all over me.

Tips

memory

溅 has the water radical 氵 on the left, showing it's related to liquid. Think of water 'jumping' (贱 jiàn sounds the same) out of a container.

Components

radical

氵 shuǐ

water (radical)

Left radical 氵 is the side-form of 水 (water), three drops falling vertically. Marks 溅 as a water action - splashing, spraying. Same radical anchors the huge water-verb family: 流 (flow), 浇 (pour), 泼 (splash), 滴 (drip), 洒 (sprinkle). When liquid moves, 氵 is on the left.

phonetic

贱 jiàn

cheap; lowly (phonetic)

Right phonetic 贱 supplies the sound jiàn with no drift. 贱 itself means 'cheap, of low value', but here it functions purely as a sound marker. Same phonetic appears in 践 (tread), 饯 (farewell drink), and 栈 (storehouse) - all jiàn-readings.