陷 (xiàn): pitfall, trap, to get stuck
陷 (xiàn) is a Chinese character meaning “pitfall.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 阝 (structural) and 臽 (structural). It ranks #1254 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 陷 a place 阝 with a pit 臽; 臽 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 阝 (mound) appears in many related characters such as 那 (nà, (specifier) that), 都 (dōu, all), 院 (yuàn, courtyard).
Definitions
- pitfall
- trap
- to get stuck
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA place 阝 with a pit 臽; 臽 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰阝臽 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 陷 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 陷
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 陷害verb | xiàn hài | to entrap |
| 陷阱noun | xiàn jǐng | pitfall |
| 深陷verb | shēn xiàn | to be deeply in (trouble, debt etc) |
| 诬陷verb | wū xiàn | to entrap |
| 陷落verb | xiàn luò | to surrender (of a fortress) |
| 陷于 | xiàn yú | caught in (a bad situation) |
| 沦陷verb | lún xiàn | to fall into enemy hands |
| 塌陷verb | tā xiàn | to subside |
| 凹陷verb | āo xiàn | to cave in |
| 攻陷verb | gōng xiàn | to capture (a fortress, city etc) |
| 冲锋陷阵phrase | chōng fēng xiàn zhèn | (idiom) to charge into battle |
| 身陷囹圄phrase | shēn xiàn líng yǔ | thrown into prison |
| 下陷verb | xià xiàn | to subside |
| 沉陷verb | chén xiàn | to sink |
| 先天性缺陷 | xiān tiān xìng quē xiàn | birth defect |
陷 appears in 41 compound words: 22 as the first character, 54 as the last, and 24 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 陷 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
汽车陷入了泥坑，需要拖车来救援。
Qìchē xiànrù le ní kēng, xūyào tuōchē lái jiùyuán.
The car got stuck in a mud pit and needs a tow truck for rescue.
嘉義選情黃家班兩樣情 嘉市根基穩固、嘉縣陷重整紛爭
jiā 義 選 qíng 黃 jiā bān 兩 樣 qíng jiā shì gēn jī 穩 gù jiā 縣 xiàn chóng zhěng 紛 爭
Chiayi Election Landscape: Two Different Scenarios for the Huang Family Team Chiayi City: Solid Foundation, Chiayi County: Mired in Restructuring Disputes
...被拍賣還被追稅?國稅局曝「房地合一」致命陷阱:少做一步慘遭補稅
. . . bèi pāi 賣 還 bèi zhuī 稅 ? 國 稅 jú pù fáng dì gě yī zhì mìng xiàn jǐng shǎo zuò yī bù 慘 zāo 補 稅
...Auctioned off and still facing back taxes? IRS exposes fatal pitfall of "integrated property tax system": One missed step leads to hefty tax reassessment
鍾柔美陷「A0」風波網民批人設崩壞欠公信力 詹天...
鍾 róu měi xiàn 風 bō 網 mín pī rén 設 bēng 壞 qiàn gōng xìn lì 詹 tiān . . .
Zhong Roumei caught in "A0" scandal; netizens slam her persona as broken and lacking credibility; Jiang Tian...
美國土安全部陷停擺...2快速通關計畫喊卡 航空業憂:...
měi 國 tǔ ān quán bù xiàn tíng 擺 . . . kuài sù tōng 關 計 畫 hǎn kǎ háng kōng 業 憂 . . .
U.S. Department of Homeland Security is in suspension... .2 Express clearance program stalled Airline industry worries:...
川普施壓伊朗恐有反效果 使中東陷入新動盪
chuān pǔ shī 壓 yī lǎng kǒng yǒu fǎn xiào guǒ shǐ zhōng 東 xiàn rù xīn 動 盪
Trump's pressure on Iran threatens to backfire, plunging the Middle East into new turmoil.
你认为它是陷阱吗？
Nǐ rènwéi tā shì xiànjǐng ma?
Do you think it's a trap?
他们利用陷阱捕捉狐狸。
Tāmen lìyòng xiànjǐng bǔzhuō húli.
Using a trap, they caught the fox.
他故意令她陷入险境。
Tā gùyì lìng tā xiànrù xiǎnjìng.
He deliberately exposed her to danger.
这个程序缺陷满多。
Zhège chéngxù quēxiàn mǎn duō.
This process has a lot of inconveniences.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 陷 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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