沈ちん吟ぎん

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru'

humming in thought; meditative groaning; painstaking poetic composition

Literary word for deep contemplation accompanied by quiet humming or groaning, or for laboring over a poem. Rare in modern speech; mostly encountered in classical or poetic contexts.

• 彼かれは一いっ句くを沈ちん吟ぎんしてから、ようやく筆ふでを執とった。

  After painstakingly composing a single verse, he finally took up his brush.

• 老ろう人じんは縁えん側がわで沈ちん吟ぎんしながら、遠とおくの山やまを眺ながめていた。

  The old man sat on the veranda, humming in thought as he gazed at the distant mountains.