感染
gǎnrǎn · HSK 7
infect
🦠 感 = feel + 染 = dye; a feeling 'dyes' you — infect/influence
感 means feel/sense, 染 means to dye or stain (氵water + 九 nine + 木 tree — repeated dipping). Together: a feeling stains you, so you're infected or influenced by it.
感 — heart 心 + 咸 (xián, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The heart radical 心 at the bottom carries the meaning of feeling or emotion, while 咸 supplies the sound. Together 感 conveys being moved in the heart, hence 'to feel,' 'sense,' or 'be affected by' something.
染 — water 氵 + nine 九 + wood 木
染 depicts the dyeing process: 氵 (water) for the dye liquid, 木 (wood) for plant-based dyestuffs, and 九 (nine) suggesting repeated dippings to deepen the color. Originally meaning 'to dye cloth,' it later extended to figurative senses like 'to be influenced' or 'to contract' (as in illness).