TSUMUGU · C1 (est.) · 字
淹
淹 ＝ 氵 ＋ 奄
ㄧㄢ · yān
verb — to flood, submerge; to drown
字源 FORM — what the parts do
氵義water
奄聲yǎn — gives the sounda cover spread over — to cover, suddenly
Tyǎn → yān — tone shifts, the rhyme holds
Water (氵) covering the land over — to flood. 奄 yǎn carries the sound and the picture both: a cover spread wide. From water shutting over things, drowning and submerging: 淹沒、淹水、淹死.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
一夜大雨，水漫上來蓋過田（氵）——淹了。
A night of rain, the water rising to cover the fields (氵) — flooded.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)淹沒、淹水— to flood, submerge常用
→淹死、淹斃— to drown
⇒淹留、淹滯— to be held up, linger
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
奄yǎnthe sound side alone — 奄 is the bare cover, 淹 adds the water