弥漫
mí màn · HSK 7
to fill the air
🌫️ 弥漫 = mí (to fill/spread) + màn (overflow) — fog that fills the air everywhere
弥 carries the sense of filling up or spreading across; 漫 means to overflow or flood. Together they describe smoke, fog, or a smell spreading until it saturates a whole space. The màn sound also shows up in 漫长 (long-drawn-out).
漫 — water radical 氵 + 曼 màn (phonetic)
漫 is a phono-semantic compound: the water radical 氵 gives the meaning and 曼 supplies the sound. It originally described water overflowing or spreading without bounds, and from that came extended senses like 'free, unrestrained, aimless,' as in 漫步 'to stroll' or 浪漫 'romantic.'