潺潺

Chinese

		flow; trickle (of water)	flow; trickle (of water)
simp. and trad. (潺潺)		潺	潺

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): chánchán

(Zhuyin): ㄔㄢˊ ㄔㄢˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): saan⁴ saan⁴
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): chhân-chhân

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: chánchán
  - Zhuyin: ㄔㄢˊ ㄔㄢˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: chánchán
  - Wade–Giles: chʻan²-chʻan²
  - Yale: chán-chán
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: charncharn
  - Palladius: чаньчань (čanʹčanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰän³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰän³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: saan⁴ saan⁴
  - Yale: sàahn sàahn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: saan⁴ saan⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: san⁴ san⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /saːn²¹ saːn²¹/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhân-chhân
  - Tâi-lô: tshân-tshân
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zhanzhaan
  - Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sʰan²⁴⁻²² t͡sʰan²⁴/

Verb

潺潺

(onomatopoeia) to babble (of flowing water); to murmur; to gurgle; to burble
- 簾外雨潺潺，
  春意闌珊，
  羅衾不耐五更寒，
  夢裡不知身是客，
  一晌貪歡。 [Ci, trad.]
  帘外雨潺潺，
  春意阑珊，
  罗衾不耐五更寒，
  梦里不知身是客，
  一晌贪欢。 [Ci, simp.]
  From: c. 977, Southern Tang Emperor Li Yu, 《浪淘沙令·簾外雨潺潺》 (To the Tune: Waves Washing the Sand / Outside the Curtain Rain Babbles)
  Lián wài yǔ chánchán,
  Chūnyì lánshān,
  Luó qīn bù nài wǔ gēng hán,
  Mèng lǐ bù zhī shēn shì kè,
  Yīshǎng tānhuān. [Pinyin]
  Outside the curtain rain babbles.
  Spring wearing off,
  Silk bedding cannot fend off the fifth-watch chill.
  Lost in dreamland I know not myself as a guest,
  Indulging in pleasure for the moment.

Noun

潺潺

sound made by rain or flowing water; murmur; gurgle

Derived terms

流水潺潺

Japanese

Kanji in this term
潺	潺
せん Hyōgai	せん Hyōgai
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
潺々 (abbreviation)

Adjective

潺(せん)潺(せん) • (sensen) ^†-tari (adnominal 潺(せん)潺(せん)とした (sensen to shita) or 潺(せん)潺(せん)たる (sensen taru), adverbial 潺(せん)潺(せん)と (sensen to) or 潺(せん)潺(せん)として (sensen to shite))

murmuring, bubbling (river etc.)

Inflection

Classical conjugation of "潺潺たり" (タリ活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形)	潺潺たら	せんせんたら	sensen tara
Continuative (連用形)	潺潺と^[1] 潺潺たり^[2]	せんせんとせんせんたり	sensen to sensen tari
Terminal (終止形)	潺潺たり	せんせんたり	sensen tari
Attributive (連体形)	潺潺たる	せんせんたる	sensen taru
Realis (已然形)	潺潺たれ	せんせんたれ	sensen tare
Imperative (命令形)	潺潺たれ	せんせんたれ	sensen tare
Key constructions
Negative	潺潺たらず	せんせんたらず	sensen tarazu
Contrasting conjunction	潺潺たれど	せんせんたれど	sensen taredo
Causal conjunction	潺潺たれば	せんせんたれば	sensen tareba
Conditional conjunction	潺潺たらば	せんせんたらば	sensen taraba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge)	潺潺たりき	せんせんたりき	sensen tariki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge)	潺潺たりけり	せんせんたりけり	sensen tarikeri
Adverbial	潺潺と	せんせんと	sensen to

^[1]Without auxiliary verb.
^[2]With auxiliary verb.

References

“^▲潺^▲潺”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026