染
rǎn · HSK 5
to dye
🎨 染 = 氵(water) + 九 (nine) + 木 (tree/wood) — dip wood nine times in water-dye
Etymology: repeatedly dipping fabric or wood into a vat of dye. The 九 (nine) component signals repetition, 氵 is the dye-water, 木 is the plant source of dye. Extended sense: to catch a disease or pick up a habit, as if soaking it in.
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).