溶 (róng) · to dissolve, soluble

Meanings

1 to dissolve
2 soluble

Characters

溶

róng

to dissolve

Examples

HSK 3

糖在热水里很快就溶了。

Táng zài rèshuǐ lǐ hěnkuài jiù róng le.

Sugar dissolves quickly in hot water.

HSK 4

这种药片放在水里就溶了。

Zhèzhǒng yàopiàn fàngzài shuǐ lǐ jiù róng le.

This type of tablet dissolves when placed in water.

Tips

usage

溶 focuses on dissolving into liquid. Compare: 融 for melting by heat, 熔 for melting metals. All three are pronounced the same but have different applications.

Components

radical

氵 shuǐ

water (left-side)

Water radical on the left marks 溶 as an aqueous process - to dissolve is for a solid to take on water and disperse into solution. Same radical drives 液 (liquid), 流 (flow), 浸 (soak). The three-drop form is the standard left-side water across the chemistry vocabulary.

phonetic

容 róng

contain; allow

容 supplies the sound directly - róng with matching tone - and reinforces meaning: a solvent contains 容 the dissolved solute in water 氵. This double-motivated pairing makes 溶 transparently readable. Same 容 phonetic also drives 蓉 (hibiscus) and 榕 (banyan).