稀粥 (xī zhōu) — thin porridge, watered-down rice gruel

Definition

稀粥 is a thin, watery rice porridge — loose and soupy, not the thick kind. It pairs with salty or savory side dishes (like 咸菜) and is common for breakfast or when sick.

noun
thin porridgewatered-down rice gruel

Examples

  • 稀粥。
    Zǎo shàng hē yì wǎn xī zhōu duì wèi hǎo.
    Drinking a bowl of thin porridge in the morning is good for the stomach.
  • 稀粥。
    Tā shēng bìng shí zhī chī xī zhōu hé xián cài.
    When he was sick, he only ate thin porridge and pickled vegetables.
  • 稀粥，。
    Zhè wǎn xī zhōu tài xī le, jiā diǎn mǐ zài zhǔ yí huì r.
    This bowl of porridge is too watery; add some rice and cook a bit longer.

Origin

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.

稀xīthin
粥zhōuporridge

The 稀 thin quality describes the 粥 porridge, giving watery gruel.

Characters in this word

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
禾禾hégrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
希
希xī稀
Same sound today

稀 has 禾 (grain) beside 希, and 希 gives the character its sound.

Open 稀 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 粥 →

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