How to Write 溶 (róng) — Meaning “to dissolve”

Imagine a cup of water (氵) that has space to 'contain' (容) sugar, and as you stir, the sugar disappears into the water — that is dissolving. The shape of 容 even looks like a container with a lid, helping you recall that 溶 means to dissolve in liquid.

The left radical 氵 must be written as three dots, with the second dot slightly left and the third dot aligned more to the right. The right part 容 has a roof (宀) that covers the width of the 谷 below; be careful not to make the roof too narrow or the 谷 too wide.

涪 (fú) is a rare character used mainly in place names like 涪陵, and it has 咅 (pǒu) as its right component, not 容. 涫 (guàn) means 'to boil' or 'to bubble up', with 官 (guān) on the right; its meaning is different from dissolving. In contrast, 溶 always involves a substance mixing into a liquid.

溶 is common in science contexts, such as 溶解 (to dissolve), 溶化 (to melt or dissolve), and 溶液 (solution). You might see it in chemistry classes or in recipes describing how sugar dissolves in water. It is not used in everyday conversation as often as simpler verbs like '融化' for melting ice, but it is essential for academic Chinese.

Common words containing 溶 include: 溶解 (róng jiě) — to dissolve; 溶化 (róng huà) — to melt; to dissolve; 溶液 (róng yè) — solution (chemical).