甜酒 (tián jiǔ) — sweet liquor | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'sweet liquor' — usually a homemade or traditional rice-based sweet alcoholic drink (e.g. 醪糟 laójiao), not commercial spirits.

noun

sweet liquor

Measure word · 杯

甜酒。
Tā xǐ huan zài fàn hòu hē yì xiǎo bēi tián jiǔ.
He likes to drink a small glass of sweet liquor after dinner.
甜酒，。
Zhè zhǒng tián jiǔ shì yòng nuò mǐ niàng zào de, wèi dào hěn tián.
This sweet liquor is made from glutinous rice and tastes very sweet.
甜酒。
Tā gěi kè rén dǎo le yì bēi zì zhì de tián jiǔ.
She poured a glass of homemade sweet liquor for the guests.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

甜 gives sweet and 酒 gives liquor, naming liquor that is sweet.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

舌甘甜

甜 puts 舌 (tongue) next to 甘 (sweet), showing sweetness as something the tongue perceives.

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

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.

Appears in