浸

The glyph centers on the process of saturation, ranging from intentional action to natural occurrence:

• Active Immersion: To dip, steep, or soak an object in liquid (e.g., for medicinal extraction, treating materials, or softening).
• Passive Infiltration: The slow movement of liquid into a solid; seeping, percolating, or soaking through. In contexts of land or architecture, this typically refers to leakage or dampness.
• Gradual Encroachment (Metaphorical): A pervasive, slow-moving saturation. This applies both physically (e.g., a rising tide slowly claiming land) and abstractly (e.g., the gradual influence of an idea, a feeling, or a corruption).

• vs. 淹 (yān): While both involve water and submergence, 淹 implies being overwhelmed, drowned, or completely covered by a flood—an event of scale. 浸 focuses on the process of saturation.
• vs. 滲 (shèn): 滲 is more specific to "oozing" or leaking through a pore, crack, or membrane. 浸 is broader and can describe the saturation of an entire object rather than a leak at a single point.

Fanqie reading: 七林 子鴆; Tang-period reading: tzìm.

When encountering this glyph, determine if the movement is intentional (dipping/steeping), a failure of a barrier (seeping/percolating), or a metaphor for pervasive change (encroaching/saturating).