渗透

• Pinyin: shèn tòu
• Hanzi breakdown: 渗 = 氵+ 参 (seep); 透 = 辶+ 秀 (pass through, penetrate)

Meaning

To penetrate; to permeate; to seep through; figuratively, to infiltrate or spread through gradually.

In a literal sense, describes the physical process of liquid or gas passing through a membrane (as in osmosis). Figuratively it denotes the gradual and often subtle spread of influence, ideology, or culture into a domain. Common in political, military, and cultural discourse.

Examples

1. 市场营销策略正在深度渗透到消费者的日常决策过程中。 Marketing strategies are deeply penetrating consumers’ everyday decision-making.
2. 间谍组织试图通过各种手段渗透到政府核心部门。 Spy networks are trying to infiltrate core government departments by every possible means.
3. 西方流行文化通过互联网大规模渗透进了年轻人的生活。 Western pop culture has spread into young people’s lives on a massive scale through the internet.

Usage Guide

Context: politics, science, culture, military

Tone: serious

Do Say

• 数字技术已全面渗透到现代社会的生产、生活与治理各个层面。(Digital technology has fully penetrated every level of modern society — from production and daily life to governance.)
• 情报部门警告称，境外势力正通过多种渠道对本国媒体领域实施渗透。(Intelligence agencies have warned that foreign forces are infiltrating domestic media through multiple channels.)

Don't Say

• 渗透 casually for ordinary influence — it carries connotations of covert or deliberate penetration; use 影响 for neutral influence

Origin & History

渗 (seep) + 透 (penetrate, pass through)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal