ripples
漣 centers on small, gentle waves spreading across water: ripples. It describes the delicate pattern on a water surface rather than large waves.
漣 combines 氵 (water) with 連, which likely contributes both the sound and the idea of something continuous or linked, suggesting linked ripples on water.
Water 氵 on the left and 連 (link, connect) on the right: picture a chain of tiny waves linked together across a pond, each one a ripple.
For レン, imagine a lens floating on the water, and each ripple distorts the view through it: lens -> レン, and the ripples spread out.