How to Write 甙 (dài) — Meaning “glycoside”

Imagine a sweet (甘) dart or arrow (弋) that delivers medicine into the heart, since many glycosides are used in cardiac drugs. The dart shape of 弋 helps you recall that 甙 is a type of compound that acts like a targeted medicine. This mental image connects the sweet radical with the medical function of glycosides.

When writing 甙, pay special attention to the right part 弋 — it is not the same as 戈 (spear). The 弋 has a horizontal stroke followed by a diagonal hook and ends with a dot, while 戈 has a horizontal stroke and a slanted stroke with a dot. Also, keep the left component 甘 and the right 弋 roughly equal in width, and do not let the hook of 弋 extend too far below the left side.

甙 is made of 甘 (sweet) on the left and 弋 on the right, giving it a square, balanced look with a dot in the upper right corner. In contrast, 甚 has a different structure: it is composed of 其 on top of 匕, with no dot in the top right area. Also, 甙 is a technical chemical term, while 甚 is a common word meaning "very" or "extremely," so their usage contexts are completely different.

You will most often see 甙 in scientific and medical texts, especially in chemistry, pharmacology, and traditional Chinese medicine. For example, 强心甙 refers to cardiac glycosides used for heart conditions, and 皂甙 means saponins, which create foam in soaps. This character is not used in daily conversation, so learning it helps mainly for reading specialized literature.

Common words containing 甙 include: 甙类 (dài lèi) — glycosides; 强心甙 (qiáng xīn dài) — Cardiac glycoside; 皂甙 (zào dài) — Saponin.