下酒 (xià jiǔ) — to go with liquor (of food), to be eaten as a drinking snack

Definition

下酒 is a verb that describes food going well with alcohol — ‘pairs with liquor / makes a good drinking snack’. It focuses on how well a dish complements the drink, not the dish itself.

verb
to go with liquor (of food)to be eaten as a drinking snack

Examples

  • 下酒。
    Tā ná huā shēng xià jiǔ.
    He has peanuts to go with the liquor.
  • 下酒。
    Zhè pán niú ròu hěn xià jiǔ.
    This plate of beef goes well with liquor.
  • 。
    Zhè zhòng cài xià bù liǎo jiǔ.
    This kind of dish doesn't go with liquor.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

下xiàgo with
酒jiǔliquor

下 means go with, and 酒 means liquor, so it describes food that goes with liquor.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu酒jiǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

Open 酒 →

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