How to Write 馊 (sōu) — Meaning “Spoiled / rancid (of food)”

Imagine an old man (叟) leaving his food outside for days — the food icon (饣) shows it has gone bad. The picture of an old man with sour-smelling food helps link the sound sōu to spoiled. This visual trick makes 馊 easy to recall.

The left radical 饣 (3 strokes) should be written narrow, with the vertical stroke stopping before the bottom. The right part 叟 (9 strokes) has a small top '白' then a '又' below — make sure the top has horizontal strokes inside the box. A common mistake is to misplace the vertical stroke in the right part.

馊 means spoiled food, while 飨 (xiǎng) is a formal word for feasting or offering food, and 饽 (bō) refers to steamed cakes or pastries. Visually, 馊 has 叟 on the right, 飨 has 食 and 乡, and 饽 has 孛. Their meanings are unrelated; 馊 is negative, the others are neutral or positive.

You use 馊 for food that has gone bad, like 馊了 (gone sour) or 馊味 (sour smell). It is also used metaphorically in 馊主意 for a really bad or rotten idea. This character appears in everyday conversation, especially when checking leftovers or criticizing suggestions.

Common words containing 馊 include: 馊了 (sōu le) — Gone bad / spoiled; 馊味 (sōu wèi) — Rancid smell / sour smell; 馊主意 (sōu zhǔ yì) — A rotten idea / bad idea.