糟 zāo dregs
dregs; sediment; to waste; to spoil; messy; ruined
How to remember 糟: 米 rice + 曹 two sides = dregs. After brewing rice wine, the two sides of the family argue over who has to clean out the sticky dregs.
Component breakdown
糟 = 米 rice + 曹 two sides
- 米 rice
- 曹 two sides
After brewing rice wine, the two sides of the family argue over who has to clean out the sticky dregs.
How it is used
- Adjective/exclamation for "bad, in a bad state" - 糟糕 (zāogāo) is one of the most common spoken interjections in Chinese, shouted when something goes wrong, like "Oh no!" or "Damn it!".
- 乱七八糟 (luànqībāzāo) "a complete mess, chaotic" is a very frequent four-character idiom for disorder, whether a messy room or a confused situation.
- 糟蹋 (zāotà) "to waste, ruin, spoil" is used for wasting resources, opportunities, or mistreating something/someone: 别糟蹋粮食 "don't waste food".