How to Write 酖 (zhèn) — Meaning “addicted to wine / poisonous”

Imagine a wine bottle (酉) slowly sinking underwater (冘) — the wine becomes poisoned because it is ruined by the water. Or think of a person sinking into a wine bottle, unable to escape, meaning they are addicted to wine.

Write the left radical 酉 first with 7 strokes: short horizontal, then a long left-to-right shape, then inner strokes. Then add the right part 冘 (4 strokes: dot, horizontal, vertical, horizontal). A common mistake is making 冘 look like 酋 — remember 冘 has no extra lines on top.

酖 has 冘 on the right (like a person sinking), while 酊 has 丁 (a nail shape) and means very drunk, not poisonous. 酋 is a different character — it looks like a wine jar with a lid on top and means a chief or leader, with no addiction meaning.

酖 is very rare today and mostly appears in classical texts or formal idioms. Its common word 酖毒 (zhèn dú) means deadly poison, and is sometimes used metaphorically for anything harmful. In ancient Chinese culture, being 酖乐 (addicted to pleasure) was seen as a sign of moral decay.

Common words containing 酖 include: 酖毒 (zhèn dú) — poisonous wine / deadly poison; 酖乐 (zhèn lè) — to indulge in pleasure; 酖嗜 (zhèn shì) — to be addicted to.