Meaning of 汤
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- soup
- hot or boiling water
- decoction of medicinal herbs
- water in which sth has been boiled
- surname Tang
- rushing current
How to use 汤
汤 (tāng) is the everyday word for soup or broth. You will see it in dishes like 鸡汤 (jītāng) chicken soup and 肉汤 (ròutāng) meat broth. Example: 我想喝一碗汤。(Wǒ xiǎng hē yì wǎn tāng.) I want to have a bowl of soup.
The left side 氵 is the water radical, and the right side 𠃓 (from 昜 in the traditional 湯) looks like steam curling up from a pot. Water plus rising steam gives you hot soup, 汤 (tāng).
Common mistake: Learners often say 吃汤 (chī tāng) because soup is food. In Chinese you usually say 喝汤 (hē tāng), to drink soup. Also do not confuse 汤 with 场 (chǎng), which has the earth radical 土 instead of water.
汤 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
汤 tāng · soup · 6 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 汤.
| 汤圆 | tāngyuán | boiled or deep-fried balls of glutinous rice flour, usually eaten during Lantern Festival |
| 泡汤 | pàotāng | (coll.) to fizzle out; to come to nothing; to dawdle; to stall |
| 汤匙 | tāngchí | soup spoon; tablespoon |
| 鸡汤 | jītāng | chicken stock; chicken soup |
| 赴汤蹈火 | fùtāngdǎohuǒ | lit. to jump into scalding water and plunge into raging fire (idiom); fig. to brave any da |
| 肉汤 | ròutāng | meat soup; broth |
| 浓汤 | nóngtāng | thick soup; puree |
Questions about 汤
What does 汤 mean?
汤 (tāng) means "soup; hot or boiling water" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 汤?
汤 is made of 1 character: 汤 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.
Is 汤 an HSK word?
Yes. 汤 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 汤 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 汤 is written 湯.
What does 泡汤 (pàotāng) mean?
It is a casual expression meaning a plan fell through or came to nothing. For example, 下雨了，野餐泡汤了 means it rained, so the picnic is off.
Is 汤 ever used for medicine?
Yes. In traditional Chinese medicine, 汤 can mean a herbal decoction, and many formula names end in 汤. It can also mean hot water or the water something was boiled in, as in 饺子汤 (jiǎozi tāng), dumpling water.