How to Write 酱 (jiàng) — Meaning “sauce or paste”

Imagine you are at sunset (夕) using a spoon (匕) to scoop delicious sauce from a barrel marked with the wine radical 酉. This picture of a spoonful of sauce at evening time can help you remember the shape and meaning of 酱.

Pay attention to the left radical 酉: it has seven strokes and ends with a horizontal bottom line. The right side is not the character 将; it is 匕 above 夕, so do not add a 寸 or confuse the order. Write the right part as two separate components: first 匕, then 夕.

酱 means sauce or paste, while 酕 (máo) is an ancient word for drinking wine and 酖 (dān) means addicted to alcohol. Visually, 酱 has 匕 and 夕 on the right, 酕 has 毛 (hair), and 酖 has 冘 (a person carrying a burden). Unlike 酱, the other two are extremely rare in modern Chinese.

酱 appears in common food words like 果酱 (fruit jam), 酱油 (soy sauce), and 炸酱面 (noodles with soybean paste). Soy sauce (酱油) is a daily essential in Chinese kitchens, and 酱 itself is used for all kinds of thick sauces and pastes. Culturally, sauces are a cornerstone of Chinese cuisine, adding flavor to many dishes.

Common words containing 酱 include: 果酱 (guǒ jiàng) — fruit jam; 酱油 (jiàng yóu) — soy sauce; 炸酱面 (zhá jiàng miàn) — noodles with soybean paste.