溶 (róng): to dissolve

Meanings

1 to dissolve
2 soluble

Characters

溶

róng

to dissolve

Examples

糖在热水里很快就溶了。

Táng zài rèshuǐ lǐ hěnkuài jiù róng le.

Sugar dissolves quickly in hot water.

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 (róng) for melting by heat, 熔 (róng) 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 (róng, hibiscus) and 榕 (róng, banyan).