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深shēn(lit. and fig.) deep

HSK 4word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

深 (shēn) means "deep," both literally and figuratively. It describes water, holes, or places that go far down, as in 水很深 (the water is deep), and also deep feelings, hard content, as in 这本书很深 (this book is deep). It is an adjective often used after 很 or 太.

What does 深 mean?

  1. 1.

    (lit. and fig.) deepadjective

What does the character 深 mean?

  • 深(lit. and fig.) deep

How do you use 深?

深 can describe physical depth or content that is hard to understand.

Patterns

  • 很 / 太 + 深

    这条河太深了。

    Zhè tiáo hé tài shēn le.

    This river is too deep.

What are some examples of 深 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    这里的水很深。

    Zhèlǐ de shuǐ hěn shēn.

    The water here is very deep.

  2. HSK 2

    这本书太深了，我看不懂。

    Zhè běn shū tài shēn le, wǒ kàn bu dǒng.

    This book is too deep; I can't understand it.

  3. HSK 1

    这个问题很深。

    Zhège wèntí hěn shēn.

    This question is very deep.

How is 深 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    我们在这儿游泳吧。

    Wǒmen zài zhèr yóuyǒng ba.

    Let's swim here.

  2. Speaker B:

    不行，这里的水太深了。

    Bù xíng, zhèlǐ de shuǐ tài shēn le.

    No, the water here is too deep.

  3. Speaker A:

    那我们去哪儿？

    Nà wǒmen qù nǎr?

    Then where should we go?

  4. Speaker B:

    前边的水浅，我们去那儿。

    Qiánbian de shuǐ qiǎn, wǒmen qù nàr.

    The water up ahead is shallow; let's go there.

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.