深 (shēn): deep
深 (shēn) is a Chinese character meaning “deep.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (structural) and 罙 (structural). It ranks #401 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 深 deep 罙 water 氵. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- deep
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 深 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 深
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 深刻adjective | shēn kè | profound | 5 |
| 深入verb/adjective | shēn rù | to penetrate deeply | 5 |
| 深度noun/adjective | shēn dù | depth | 5 |
| 深夜noun | shēn yè | very late at night | 6 |
| 加深verb | jiā shēn | to deepen | 5 |
| 深远adjective | shēn yuǎn | far-reaching | 5 |
| 深厚adjective | shēn hòu | deep | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 深呼吸 | shēn hū xī | to take a deep breath |
| 深处noun | shēn chù | abyss |
| 深深adjective | shēn shēn | deep |
| 深感verb | shēn gǎn | to feel deeply |
| 深渊noun | shēn yuān | abyss |
| 深色noun | shēn sè | dark |
| 深陷verb | shēn xiàn | to be deeply in (trouble, debt etc) |
| 深受verb | shēn shòu | to receive in no small measure |
| 资深adjective | zī shēn | senior |
| 深情noun | shēn qíng | deep emotion |
| 深信verb | shēn xìn | to believe firmly |
| 深思熟虑phrase | shēn sī shú lǜ | mature reflection |
| 深信不疑phrase | shēn xìn bù yí | to believe firmly without any doubt (idiom) |
| 深切adjective | shēn qiè | deeply felt |
| 深沉adjective | shēn chén | deep |
深 appears in 102 compound words: 76 as the first character, 17 as the last, and 7 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 深 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (42)
to be badly injured and in great pain; to suffer from great loss and deep distress
deep roots and vigorous foliage (idiom); (fig.) well established and growing strongly
deep roots and vigorous foliage (idiom); (fig.) well established and growing strongly
Showing 12 of 42 idioms containing 深.
Example Sentences
这个峡谷深达三百米，从上面往下看会让人感到头晕。
Zhè gè xiágǔ shēn dá sānbǎi mǐ, cóng shàngmiàn wǎng xià kàn huì ràng rén gǎndào tóuyūn.
This canyon is three hundred meters deep, and looking down from above can make people feel dizzy.
马来西亚外海7.1强震 震源极深未发海啸警报
mǎ lái xī yà wài hǎi 7 . 1 qiáng zhèn zhèn yuán jí shēn wèi fā hǎi xiào jǐng bào
The 7.1 strong earthquake off the coast of Malaysia had a very deep epicenter and no tsunami warning was issued
神韵展现对神的信仰 令牙医“深受鼓舞”
shén yùn zhǎn xiàn duì shén de xìn yǎng lìng yá yī shēn shòu gǔ wǔ
Shen Yun shows faith in God and makes dentists "deeply encouraged"
2026祛斑产品什么好?十大祛斑产品排名深扒:祛斑..
2 0 2 6 祛 bān chǎn pǐn shén má hǎo ? shí dà 祛 bān chǎn pǐn pái míng shēn bā : 祛 bān . .
What are the best freckle removal products in 2026? Top 10 freckle removal product rankings: freckle removal:
深夜,黄金、白银、原油齐涨,美股三大指数集...
shēn yè , huáng jīn bái yín yuán yóu qí zhǎng , měi gǔ sān dà zhǐ shǔ jí . . .
Late at night, gold, silver, crude oil rose, the three major U.S. stock indexes set...
逛游乐场与家人失散,5岁女童坠入路边深井大哭,男子..
guàng yóu lè chǎng yú jiā rén shī sàn , suì nǚ tóng zhuì rù lù biān shēn jǐng dà kū , nán zǐ . .
A 5-year-old girl became separated from her family while visiting an amusement park and fell into a deep roadside well, where she began crying. A man...
你有深海恐惧症吗？
Nǐ yǒu shēnhǎi kǒngjùzhèng ma?
Do you have deep sea phobia?
哇，她真是神速啊，真让我印象深刻！
Wā, tā zhēnshi shénsù ā, zhēn ràng wǒ yìnxiàng shēnkè!
Wow, she’s got a lot of pace, I’m impressed!
他选每个词都深思熟虑。
Tā xuǎn měi gè cí dōu shēnsīshúlǜ.
He chose every word with care.
这是一道深奥的数学题。
Zhè shì yīdào shēn'ào de shùxué tí.
This is a difficult math problem.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 深 (shēn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 深 and 浅?
How many strokes does 深 have?
What is the radical of 深?
What are the components of 深?
What are common words containing 深?
What characters sound the same as 深 (shēn)?
Is 深 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 深 with real-time feedback
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