酸 (suān): sour, tart, sick at heart
酸 (suān) is a Chinese character meaning “sour.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 酉 (structural) and 夋 (structural). It ranks #1447 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 酸 wine 酉 aged too long 夋; 夋 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 酉 (wine) appears in many related characters such as 配 (pèi, to join), 醒 (xǐng, to wake up), 醉 (zuì, intoxicated).
Definitions
- sour
- tart
- sick at heart
Etymology & Origin
ideographicWine 酉 aged too long 夋; 夋 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰酉夋 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 酸 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 酸
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 酸奶noun | suān nǎi | yogurt | 4 |
| 酸甜苦辣 | suān tián kǔ là | lit. sour, sweet, bitter and spicy (idiom) | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 硫酸 | liú suān | sulfuric acid H2SO4 |
| 尖酸 | jiān suān | harsh |
| 盐酸 | yán suān | hydrochloric acid HCl |
| 碳酸 | tàn suān | carbonic acid |
| 寒酸 | hán suān | wretched |
| 酸痛 | suān tòng | to ache |
| 胃酸 | wèi suān | gastric acid |
| 磷酸 | lín suān | phosphoric acid |
| 酸性 | suān xìng | acidity |
| 乳酸 | rǔ suān | lactic acid |
| 丙烯酸 | bǐng xī suān | acrylic acid C3H4O2 |
| 心酸 | xīn suān | to feel sad |
| 酸梅 | suān méi | preserved plum |
| 穷酸 | qióng suān | (of a scholar) impoverished, shabby and pedantic |
| 油酸 | yóu suān | oleic acid |
酸 appears in 100 compound words: 25 as the first character, 64 as the last, and 11 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 酸 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (4)
sour, sweet, bitter and spicy; all kinds of flavours; the joys and sorrows of life; the sweets and bitters of life
Example Sentences
酸字在日常生活中使用频率中等。
suān zì zài rì cháng shēng huó zhōng shǐ yòng pín lǜ zhōng děng .
The character "酸" is used moderately frequently in daily life.
无糖的食品有哪些?饮料、糕点、酸奶都有无糖版吗
wú táng de shí pǐn yǒu nǎ xiē ? yǐn liào , gāo diǎn , suān nǎi dōu yǒu wú táng bǎn ma
What are sugar-free foods? Do drinks, pastries, and yogurt have sugar-free versions?
真正的无糖食品推荐哪些?配料只有生牛乳的酸奶算吗
zhēn zhèng de wú táng shí pǐn tuī jiàn nǎ xiē ? pèi liào zhī yǒu shēng niú rǔ de suān nǎi suàn ma
What are the recommended foods for real sugar-free? Is yogurt with only raw milk counted?
桃园人妻晨间泼酸毁夫双眼 获缓刑理由曝光
táo yuán rén qī chén jiān pō suān huǐ fū shuāng yǎn huò huǎn xíng lǐ yóu pù guāng
Taoyuan wife splashed acid in the morning and destroyed her husband's eyes, and the reason for the suspended sentence was exposed
港男陈尸五星饭店 房内留心酸字条死因曝
gǎng nán chén shī wǔ xīng fàn diàn fáng nèi liú xīn suān zì tiáo sǐ yīn pù
Hong Kong man Chen Shi five-star hotel pay attention to the sour note in the room The cause of death was exposed
懒理陈佩琪酸“单身狗” 赖清德合体小英再晒毛小孩
lǎn lǐ chén pèi 琪 suān dān shēn gǒu lài qīng dé gě tǐ xiǎo yīng zài shài máo xiǎo hái
Lazy Chen Peiqi sour "single dog" Lai Qingde combined Xiaoying to dry the furry child again
麦根沙士被视为一种经典的美式碳酸饮品。
Mài gēn shāshì bèi shìwéi yīzhǒng jīngdiǎn de Měishì tànsuān yǐnpǐn.
Root beer is considered a classic American carbonated soft drink.
酸性会腐蚀含有金属的物质。
Suānxìng huì fǔshí hányǒu jīnshǔ de wùzhì.
Acid acts on things which contain metal.
汤姆喜欢希腊酸奶。
Tāngmǔ xǐhuan Xīlà suānnǎi.
Tom likes Greek yogurt.
那些葡萄看起来很甜，但其实是酸的。
Nàxiē pútao kànqǐlai hěn tián, dàn qíshí shì suān de.
Those grapes look sweet, but in fact they're sour.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 酸 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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