Definition
涩 is primarily a taste word for 'astringent' or 'puckery' — the dry, puckering sensation you get from an unripe persimmon or a strong cup of tea. As a stative verb (often reduplicated as 涩涩的), it also extends to physical roughness (a rough surface), and by metaphor to writing or speech that feels 'rough' or 'obscure' — difficult to read smoothly. The English glosses 'rough, obscure, difficult' cover the extended senses but miss the primary taste meaning, so treat 涩 as most commonly describing food or drink that makes your mouth pucker.
s.v.
astringentpuckery (of taste, e.g., unripe fruit, strong tea)roughnot smooth (of texture or surface)obscuredifficult to follow (of writing or style)
Examples
- 涩，。Zhège shìzi hěn sè, hái méi shú tòu.This persimmon is very astringent — it's not fully ripe yet.
- 涩，。Mùbǎn de biǎomiàn hěn sè, xūyào dǎmó yíxià.The surface of the wooden plank is very rough; it needs sanding.
- ，。Zhè piān gǔwén yǔyán huìsè, bù róngyì dú dǒng.This classical text has obscure language and is not easy to understand.
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