饷 (xiǎng): military pay

Meanings

士兵已经三个月没领到军饷了。

Shìbīng yǐjīng sān gè yuè méi lǐng dào jūnxiǎng le.

The soldiers had not received their pay for three months.

她把饭饷给田里干活的人。

Tā bǎ fàn xiǎng gěi tiánlǐ gànhuó de rén.

She carried food out to the people working in the fields.

usage

Today 饷 is mostly seen in 军饷 (military pay). Its original sense was carrying meals out to people working in the fields.

radical

饣 shí

food; to eat

The food radical, side form of 食, fits the original meaning of 饷: delivering food, later extended to provisioning troops with pay.

phonetic

向 xiàng

toward; direction

Supplies the sound, close to the modern reading xiǎng. It is the same character seen standing alone as 向.

饷 xiǎng