Big fish lurk in the deep pools of the river.
彼は淵に飛び込んだ。
He jumped into the deep water.
depths (of despair, etc.); grip (of death, etc.)
Figurative use for being in a deep, inescapable state, such as despair or death. Often used in literary or dramatic contexts.
彼は絶望の淵に立たされた。
He was driven to the depths of despair.
死の淵から生還した。
He returned from the brink of death.
He fell into a deep pool in the river and nearly drowned.
He suffered a serious illness and came close to death's door.
深淵 is a more formal, literary word for an abyss or deep pool, while 淵 is the everyday term used for both literal water and figurative depths.
奈落 evokes hell or a bottomless pit and is used almost only figuratively, whereas 淵 can describe either a literal deep pool or a figurative depth of despair.
淵 is the deep, still part of a river while 瀬 is the shallow, fast-flowing part; the two are classically paired as 淵と瀬.
早瀬 is a fast, shallow, turbulent stretch of a river, while 淵 is a deep, still pool where the water barely moves.
Standard kanji form; high frequency in news and general use.
Variant form; less common but still encountered.
Rarely used kanji form.
Rarely used kanji form.
The kanji 淵 depicts deep water. The word ふち is native Japanese, and its exact derivation is uncertain.