溢

• Pinyin: yì
• Hanzi breakdown: 溢 = 氵+ 益 (water radical + overflowing vessel — liquid spilling over the brim)

Meaning

To overflow; to brim over; to flood out beyond a container's capacity. By extension: to overflow with (emotion, talent, warmth).

A literary and formal verb. Concrete use: water, liquid overflowing a vessel (水溢出来). Extended figurative use: 才华横溢 (overflowing with talent), 热情洋溢 (overflowing with enthusiasm), 溢于言表 (apparent from words and expression — emotions that overflow into speech). The figurative uses are far more common in advanced written Chinese than the literal sense.

Examples

1. 连日暴雨导致城市主要排水渠道严重超负荷，多处低洼地带出现积水溢出路面的情况，交通部门已紧急启动应急预案。 Days of heavy rain overwhelmed the city’s main drainage channels, causing standing water to overflow onto roads in multiple low-lying areas; the transportation department has urgently activated its emergency plan.
2. 她在发表获奖感言时情感溢于言表，几度哽咽，台下观众无不为之动容，现场气氛极为热烈。 As she delivered her acceptance speech, her emotions poured out; she choked up several times, and the audience was deeply moved as the atmosphere grew extremely intense.
3. 这位年仅二十三岁的钢琴演奏者才华横溢，其对音乐作品细腻的情感把握令众多资深评论家叹为观止。 This pianist, only twenty-three years old, is extraordinarily talented; his delicate emotional grasp of musical works has left many veteran critics in awe.

Usage Guide

Context: literature, environmental reporting, praise, emotional description

Tone: expressive

Do Say

• 洪峰过境期间，河堤多处出现漫溢迹象，水利部门连夜调集机械设备进行紧急加固，以防止洪水大规模溢入农田和居民区。(During the passage of the flood crest, multiple sections of the embankment showed signs of overflowing; the water conservancy authority mobilised machinery overnight for emergency reinforcement to prevent floodwaters from inundating farmland and residential areas on a large scale.)
• 这篇散文充溢着对故土的深沉眷恋与对童年岁月的温柔追忆，字里行间流露出的情感真挚而节制，丝毫不流于滥情。(This prose piece brims with a deep attachment to the homeland and a tender recollection of childhood years; the emotion flowing between the lines is sincere and restrained, never veering into sentimentality.)

Don't Say

• 杯子溢了水 — the complement structure is incorrect; say 杯子里的水溢出来了 (the water in the cup overflowed) or 水从杯子里溢了出来; 溢 needs directional complement 出来 or a clear context

Origin & History

氵(water radical — flowing liquid) + 益 (overflow — water flowing over the rim of a vessel); 溢 originally depicted water spilling over a full vessel

Cultural Context

Era: Classical–Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal