dye, color, stain

About this kanji

The kanji 「染」 primarily means to dye, color, or stain something. It is often used as a verb with the readings そ.める (to dye something) and そ.まる (to be dyed). You'll find it in compounds like 染色 (せんしょく), meaning dyeing, which refers to the process of applying color to fabrics, and 染料 (せんりょう), meaning dye, which is the substance used for coloring. Another common word is 染み (しみ), meaning a stain, which refers to a spot or mark left on a surface. Note that while this kanji can pertain to both actions and substances, it is most frequently associated with the act of dyeing.

Built from

Example sentences

• 彼女は髪を赤く染めた。

  She dyed her hair red.

Meanings across languages

English

dye, color, stain

Tiếng Việt

nhuộm, màu, vết bẩn

日本語

染まる, 染める

한국어

염색

中文

染料

id

dye

th

สีย้อม

es

tinte

fr

teinture

de

Färbung

pt

tinge

Common compounds

• 染色せんしょくdyeing
• 染料せんりょうdye, coloring agent
• 染みしみstain, spot