陷入
xiànrù · HSK 6
land oneself in
🕳️ xiàn = trap/pit + rù = enter — you fall INTO a trap
陷 means pit or trap, 入 means to enter. Together they describe falling or sinking into something — a bad situation, deep thought, or a slump. Literally: entering a pit you can't climb out of.
陷 — mound radical 阝(阜) + 臽 (person falling into pit)
陷 combines the mound/hill radical 阝 with 臽, which depicts a person falling into a pit or trap. The right side carries both meaning and sound, while the left signals terrain. The character originally meant a pitfall or to fall in, later extending to 'sink', 'trap', or 'frame someone'.
入 — single pictograph, two slanting strokes
入 is a pictograph showing an arrowhead or pointed entrance, with two strokes converging downward to suggest something going inward. The original sense was 'to enter,' and it still carries that meaning today. It contrasts visually with 人 (person), where the strokes cross differently at the top.