How to Write 汤 (tāng) — Meaning “Soup / Broth”

Imagine a hot bowl of soup with water (氵) and a rising sun (the right part 昜) — the sun heats the water into hot soup. This helps you recall that 汤 means soup and sounds like "tāng" (similar to "tongue" but with an "ah" sound).

Write the left water radical first: three strokes — dot, dot, lift (short horizontal). Then write the right part: a horizontal hook (横折钩), then a left-falling stroke (撇), and finally a vertical hook with a curve (竖弯钩). A common mistake is making the right part too wide or confusing it with the character 易 (yì).

汤 (tāng, soup) uses the water radical 氵 with a phonetic component, while 㳄 (xián or yán) has a different right part and means saliva or overflow. 氿 (guǐ) has a different structure and means a spring or water source. Visually, 汤 has a right part with a hook, 㳄 looks like water plus a person, and 氿 is water plus 九 (nine).

汤 is used for any liquid food like soup (e.g., 喝汤 hē tāng, drink soup) and also for traditional Chinese medicine decoctions (汤药). In idioms like 汤汤 (tāng tāng), it describes rushing water. Culturally, soup is a key part of Chinese meals, often served as a starter or digestive aid.

Common words containing 汤 include: 汤水 (tāng shuǐ) — Soup; broth; liquid medicine.; 汤药 (tāng yào) — decoction (traditional Chinese medicine); 汤汤 (tāng tāng) — Rushing; surging (describing water flow)..