The kanji 染 primarily conveys the idea of dyeing, staining, coloring, or being imbued with something. It signifies the action of changing the color or the state of something, whether it be fabric, hair, or even a feeling or influence. It implies a process of absorption or permeation.

・On-yomi (音読み): セン (sen) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): そ（める） (so(meru)) - to dye, color; そ（まる） (so(maru)) - to be dyed, to be colored;

⚫︎ 染色 (senshoku) Translation: dyeing; coloring ⚫︎ 染物 (somemono) Translation: dyed goods; dyed fabric ⚫︎ 髪を染める (kami o someru) Translation: to dye one's hair

The kanji 染 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The left side is a water radical (氵or 水, mizu) which acts as the semantic component, indicating that the character relates to something involving liquid or water. The right side represents phonetic component ⇛ which provides the sound of the kanji. Therefore, the character's original meaning is dyeing something with the liquid.