洒 sǎ to pour
to pour; to spill; to scatter; to sprinkle
How to remember 洒: 氵 water + 西 west = to pour. The waiter carries a jug of water to the west terrace, trips over the cat and manages to pour it all over a guest.
Component breakdown
洒 = 氵 water + 西 west
- 氵 water
- 西 west
The waiter carries a jug of water to the west terrace, trips over the cat and manages to pour it all over a guest.
How it is used
- Literal verb "to spill/sprinkle/scatter": 洒水 sǎ shuǐ, "to sprinkle water" (e.g. street-cleaning trucks, watering plants).
- Mostly a bound morpheme otherwise; its main compound worth knowing is 潇洒 xiāosǎ, describing a person's manner as carefree, elegant, and unbothered - a common compliment for someone's style or attitude, not a literal spilling sense at all.
- This is the simplified form; its traditional counterpart is 灑, occasionally seen in older or Taiwan/Hong Kong texts.