How to Write 醑 (xǔ) — Meaning “spirit / alcoholic solution”

Imagine a magical spirit (alcohol) that makes you say "Xǔ" (like a surprised sound) as you sip it from a wine jar (酉). The right side 胥 can be remembered as "Xu waits" – the spirit is waiting for you to drink.

Write the left radical 酉 first with 7 strokes, making sure the inner horizontal lines are evenly spaced. Then add the right part 胥 (9 strokes): the top is 疋 with a small mouth-like shape, and below is 月 – keep the overall character balanced and not too wide.

醑 (spirit/tincture) uses the phonetic 胥, while 酲 (hungover) has 呈 and 酴 (leaven) has 余. Visually, 醑's right side looks like "xu" with a roof, whereas 酲 has a square 呈 and 酴 has a smaller 余. Their meanings are all alcohol-related but refer to different stages or forms.

醑 appears in pharmaceutical terms like 醑剂 (tincture) for alcohol-based medicines, and in classical poetry to mean clear wine or strained spirits. It is not used in everyday conversation, but you may see it in formal or traditional contexts about brewing or pharmacy.

Common words containing 醑 include: 醑剂 (xǔ jì) — spirit (pharmaceutical); 醑酒 (xǔ jiǔ) — spirit / clear wine; 芳香醑 (fāng xiāng xǔ) — Aromatic spirit.