酉
marks words involving wine · Kangxi radical 164
marks words involving wine, fermentation, and by extension sourness, sauces and chemical substances
酉 is a picture of a tall, narrow-necked jar used for wine, drawn with the liquid or the strainer marked inside it. In the modern shape you can still read the flared rim as the top stroke, the body of the jar as the box below, and the horizontal line inside as the wine level or the lees settling in it. Because such jars held fermenting liquor, 酉 came to stand for anything brewed or fermented — hence 酒 wine, 酿 to ferment, 醋/酢 vinegar, 酱 fermented paste — and later for chemical terms like 酶 enzyme and 酯 ester. Note that 酉 is also borrowed as the tenth earthly branch, a use unconnected to its picture.
酉 at a glance
- Meaning
- marks words involving wine
- Strokes
- 7
- Characters
- 66
- Role
- Contributes meaning
- Kangxi radical
- 164
Characters with 酉 (58 of 66)
HSK 3 · 1
HSK 4 · 2
HSK 6 · 6
Beyond HSK · 45
Frequently asked questions
What does the component 酉 mean?
酉 means "marks words involving wine". In the characters that contain it, it contributes meaning.
How many Chinese characters contain 酉?
66 characters in this dictionary contain 酉, including ones at HSK 3, HSK 4, HSK 5, HSK 6.
Is 酉 a radical?
Yes — 酉 is Kangxi radical 164, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.
How many strokes does 酉 have?
酉 is written in 7 strokes.