涎 (xián): saliva; drool

Meanings

狗一闻到肉味就流涎。

Gǒu yì wéndào ròuwèi jiù liú xián.

The dog drooled the moment it smelled the meat.

他对满桌美食垂涎三尺。

Tā duì mǎn zhuō měishí chuíxián sānchǐ.

He stared greedily at the table full of delicious food.

usage

The vivid idiom 垂涎三尺 (drooling three feet) means craving something badly. 垂涎 alone also means to covet.

radical

氵 shuǐ

water

The three-drop water radical, left-side form of 水. Saliva is a body fluid, so the water radical marks 涎 as a kind of liquid produced by the mouth.

phonetic

延 yán

to extend; to stretch

Supplies the sound; standalone 延 is yán and 涎 keeps it. The stretching sense lends a fitting hint of drool dribbling out in a long thread.

涎 xián