澱

Phono-semantic compound consisting of:

水 (물 수) — semantic component, representing water or liquid, indicating relation to fluid or aqueous processes.

殿 (전각 전) — phonetic component, giving the sound diàn / jeon and suggesting solidity or stability (as in “palace, hall”).

Thus, 澱 expresses the idea of something heavy settling at the bottom of water — the deposit, sediment, or residual substance that remains when fluid motion ceases.

According to Kangxi Zidian (康熙字典):

「澱，水滓也。从水，殿聲。」

“澱 means water dregs; formed from 水 (‘water’) and phonetic 殿 (‘hall’).”

In this way, the character symbolizes both physical sedimentation and metaphorical stillness — the process by which movement ends, and what is hidden or heavy remains.

沈澱 (침전) — sedimentation; precipitation; to sink and settle

澱粉 (전분) — starch (lit. “sedimented powder”)

澱渣 (전사) — dregs; residue

澱積 (전적) — accumulation; deposit

澱層 (전층) — sedimentary layer

心澱 (심전) — lingering feeling; emotional sediment

澱下 (전하) — to settle down; to sink to the bottom

The literal sense of 澱 — “residue of water” — comes directly from observation of nature: when water stands still, suspended particles slowly sink and collect at the bottom, forming 앙금 (sediment).

In scientific and technical contexts, 澱粉 (starch) is a familiar modern derivative: the white, powdery residue obtained from grain or tuber extraction after washing — literally, “sedimented substance.”

Metaphorically, 澱 describes what remains after motion, action, or emotion — the still, enduring essence beneath passing turbulence.

This figurative usage appears in both Chinese and Japanese literature, where 澱 evokes psychological or spiritual sediment — the faint remainder of deep feeling or memory that cannot be erased.

For example, in modern Japanese prose (e.g., Kawabata Yasunari’s works), 心の澱 (kokoro no oyogori / 심전) refers to the quiet residue of emotion — grief, longing, or tenderness that settles within the heart.

Cultural and symbolic meaning:

In traditional Chinese thought, the process of 澱 (settling) mirrors the Daoist ideal of 靜 (stillness) and 澄 (clarity) — the purification of turbid water through rest.

When motion ceases, what is heavy falls, what is light rises, and clarity emerges.

Thus, 澱 symbolizes rest after agitation and truth revealed through stillness.

「水靜則澄，心靜則明。」 (Zhuangzi, 莊子)

“When water becomes still, it clarifies; when the mind becomes still, it becomes luminous.”

In Confucian and poetic language, 澱 can also imply lingering virtue or emotion — what remains of one’s inner self after long reflection or suffering.

Beyond its literal sense, 澱 embodies the idea of stillness following movement, clarity emerging from quietude, and the subtle weight of memory or essence that endures after all else subsides.