sink, be submerged, subside, be depressed, aloes
沈 centers on moving downward into a medium: sinking in water, submerging, or subsiding. The emotional sense of being depressed is a natural extension of sinking down, and aloes refers to a plant used in sinking incense.
沈 combines 氵 (water) with 冘, which likely contributes the sound and the idea of sinking or going down. The modern form is consistent with this phono-semantic structure.
Water 氵 on the left and a shape like a person sinking 冘 on the right: imagine someone slowly sinking into deep water.
For チン, picture a heavy chin sinking into water: chin -> チン, and the weight pulls it down.
to sink; to go under; to submerge
silence; being silent; quiet; hush
to sink (e.g. a ship); to submerge
sinking; foundering; going down; submersion
(attacking and) sinking (a ship); sending (a ship) to the bottom
composure; calmness; self-possession; presence of mind
settling down; quieting down; cooling down; cooling off
sinking; subsidence
sinking instantly (of a ship due to a torpedo attack, bombing, etc.)
precipitation; deposition; settlement (e.g. of sediment)
ups and downs; bobbing up and down; rising and falling; ebbing and flowing
depression; low spirits; dejection
sedimentation (e.g. of red blood cells); precipitation; settling
floating and sinking; rise and fall; ebb and flow; ups and downs
winter daphne (Daphne odora)
grave; sad; mournful; sorrowful; pensive
agarwood; aloeswood; gharuwood; eaglewood; agalloch; agallochum
stagnation; inactivity
to be knocked out; to be overwhelmed; to be flabbergasted; to be thrown for a loop
unsinkable