醋 (cù): vinegar

Measure Word

一瓶醋 píng

Meanings

1 vinegar
2 jealousy (figurative)

Characters

醋

cù

vinegar

Examples

HSK 1

她看到他和别的女生说话就吃醋了。

Tā kàndào tā hé biéde nǚshēng shuōhuà jiù chīcù le.

She got jealous seeing him talk with another girl.

HSK 3

这道菜需要加一点醋。

Zhè dào cài xūyào jiā yīdiǎn cù.

This dish needs a little vinegar.

HSK 7-9

吃饺子的时候要蘸醋。

Chī jiǎozi de shíhou yào zhàn cù.

You should dip dumplings in vinegar when eating them.

Tips

usage

吃醋 (literally 'eat vinegar') means to be jealous, specifically in a romantic context. It's one of the most common Chinese idioms.

memory

The radical 酉 on the left relates to fermentation and alcohol - vinegar is fermented liquid, just like wine.

Components

radical

酉 yǒu

wine jar; tenth Earthly Branch

Left wine-jar radical - pictograph of a narrow-necked fermentation pot. Indexes 醋 in the fermented-liquid family with 酒 alcohol, 酱 sauce, 酸 sour, 酿 to brew. Vinegar is wine left to spoil, so the radical anchors 醋 in exactly the right semantic neighbourhood.

phonetic

昔 xī

former times; in the past

Right side 昔 supplies the sound - xī shifted to cù through Old-Chinese palatal alternation. Same phonetic in 错 wrong, 借 to lend, 措 to arrange, 醋. 昔 also adds quiet flavour: vinegar is wine that has aged into something else, so 'former wine' is a memorable mnemonic.