溢 is often used metaphorically in expressions like joy overflowing or energy overflowing.
It conveys a stronger nuance than simple “full,” emphasizing excess beyond capacity.
 
Related characters:
満 — to be full
溢 — to overflow

to flow, to circulate, to drift, to spread, to diffuse

water

three-dots water radical for 水

) — semantic component meaning “water”;


to increase, to add, to profit

— phonetic component indicating the sound (일 / yì).
The character originally described water overflowing a container, which later expanded to abstract meanings like excess or abundance.
 
Semantic development:
- water overflowing;
- exceeding capacity;
- abundance (emotion, energy, etc.).

일출 (溢出) — overflow; outflow
일류 (溢流) — overflow current; overflow

Characters

Words

Vocabulary

thirsty

to swim, to wander, to play, to float

turbid, murky, mixed together

waves surging, the sound of beating waves

lake

to boil, soup or broth, bathwater

origin, source, root, spring of water, cause, foundation

standard, criterion, norm, to match, to be equal to, water level, plumb line

to overflow, to spill over, excessive

creek, brook, stream

warm, mild, temperate

to dissolve, to melt into liquid, to become fluid

to drown, to sink, urine

deep blue, azure, vastness, immensity

to extinguish, to perish, to annihilate

smooth, slippery, glib, humorous, cunning

sediment, dregs, residue

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Chinese character

Explore 214 Chinese radicals and their derived characters. Sort by radical or stroke count, and view the complete list of official Hanja radicals.

Chinese characters (Hanja)

Chinese characters dictionary

溢

Etymology

Usage in Korean

Additional notes

Words that derived from 溢

Neighboring characters in the dictionary