酸
Mnemonic
A bottle of wine sits on a tortoise's back. After decades of painfully slow travel, the wine has gone horrifically sour—it's now pure acid! Acid drips down the shell, etching grooves of anguish into the ancient surface as the tortoise winces with each burning drop.
Additional thoughts
Imagine the tortoise's impossibly slow journey turning good wine into corrosive acid over centuries. The etched shell captures both the chemical and emotional senses of acid—sourness and suffering combined.Quick recall
A bottle of wine carried on a tortoise's back for ages turns to burning acid.Details
The keyword for 酸 is acid. This kanji refers to sourness or acidity, encompassing both the chemical concept of an acid and the taste sensation of something sour. It can also convey a feeling of pain, anguish, or hardship, as in the metaphorical sense of experiencing something bitter or harsh in life. The character thus bridges the physical experience of a sharp, sour taste with the emotional experience of suffering or distress.
- On'yomi
- さん
- Kun'yomi
- す.い