Chinese word

渗透

Pronunciation

Pinyinshèn tòu

Meaning

  • verbseep into

Example

水慢慢地渗透到土里。shuǐ màn màn dì shèn tòu dào tǔ lǐ

Water slowly seeps into the soil.

Illustration for 渗透 (seep into)

More examples

我们的产品很快就渗透到市场。wǒ men de chán pǐn hěn kuài jiù shèn tòu dào shì chǎng

Our product quickly penetrated the market.

Core concept

A substance, idea, or influence works its way inward until it reaches the inner parts of a place or group.

Common phrases

  • 渗透到市场shèn tòu dào shì chǎng

    penetrate the market

  • 渗透人心shèn tòu rén xīn

    reach people's hearts

  • 渗透到日常生活shèn tòu dào rì cháng shēng huó

    permeate daily life

Similar words

渗入shèn rù: Slow entry through small gaps until reaching the inside of a material or space.
浸透jìn tòu: Thorough soaking that carries a liquid through the whole inside of a material.
传播chuán bō: The spread of information or ideas to many people or places.
扩散kuò sàn: The widening of a range or influence as it spreads outward in all directions.

Definition in Chinese

液体或气体缓慢进入另一物体或空间的内部；也可指影响、观念等在群体或系统中逐渐扩散并生效。yè tǐ huò qì tǐ huǎn màn jìn rù lìng yí wù tǐ huò kōng jiān de nèi bù yě kě zhǐ yíng xiǎng guān niàn děng zài qún tǐ huò xì tǒng zhōng zhú jiàn kuò sàn bìng shēng xiào

Word origin

The compound 渗 (shèn, "seep") + 透 (tòu, "pass through") joins slow entry with movement beyond the surface, giving the word its sense of gradual inward spread.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may associate seep into mainly with physical material, but 渗透 (shèntòu, "seep through") is also ordinary for an influence entering a group or system.

Other meanings

  • permeationnoun

Opposites

  • 阻隔zǔ géblockverb
  • 隔绝gé juéisolateverb

Related words

  • 渗透性shèn tòu xìngpermeabilitynoun
  • 渗透力shèn tòu lìpenetrating powernoun

Word lists with this word