verb #20,885

Meanings

  1. 1 to drown
  2. 2 to indulge (in)
  3. 3 to be addicted to
  4. 4 to spoil (a child)

Examples

Tā chàdiǎnr nì sǐ zài hé lǐ.
He nearly drowned in the river.
Fùmǔ guòfèn nì'ài háizi, duì háizi de chéngzhǎng bùlì.
Parents who excessively spoil their children are not helping their development.

Tips

usage
has two key uses: literal drowning (溺死 = to drown) and figurative indulgence (溺爱 = to spoil/dote on excessively; 沉溺 = to be immersed/lost in something). The water radical connects both meanings — being submerged.

Stroke Order