TSUMUGU · TOCFL B1 (est.) · 字
沈
沈 ＝ 氵 ＋ 冘
ㄕㄣˇ · shěn/chén
noun — (shěn) a surname; verb — (chén) to sink, a variant of 沉
字源 FORM — what the parts do
氵義water
冘聲yín — gives the sounda figure moving under a cover
IFyín → shěn / chén — initial and final both shift
Water (氵) and 冘, which carries the sound: the original picture is something gone deep under water — a deep pool, then to sink. The surname 沈 took the graph; for sinking, 沈 and 沉 are written for each other.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
東西沉進深水（氵）裡，蓋上一層水——不見了。
Something settles into deep water (氵), the surface closing over — gone under.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
shěn
(本義)沈姓— the surname Shen常用
→深沈、沈潛— deep, submerged
chén
(本義)下沈、沈沒— to sink, submerge常用
→沈重、沈思— heavy; deep in thought
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
沉＝ ＋ chénthe lookalike and the variant — 沉's right element narrows, 沈 keeps fuller; the two share "sink"冘yínthe bare phonetic — a figure under a cover