Definitions

(verb) to scatter; to sprinkle
(verb) to let go; to let loose; to cast

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

About

The character "撒" is structured with the hand radical 扌 on the left and the component "散" on the right, forming a phonetic-semantic compound where the radical indicates manual action and "散" provides both phonetic cue and the core idea of dispersion, leading to its original meanings of casting, scattering, or releasing with the hand. Etymologically, this combination inherently conveyed physical acts of throwing or spreading substances. Over time, while retaining these concrete senses, the character adopted more abstract applications in lexical compounds, such as in "撒谎" where it denotes the uttering of falsehoods, and in "撒娇" where it describes behaving in a coaxing or playful manner, reflecting a semantic extension from physical to figurative domains without change to its compositional form.

Example Sentences Hide

妹妹在娇。

Mèimei zài sājiāo.

Younger sister is acting coquettishly.

他经常谎。

Tā jīngcháng sāhuǎng.

He often lies.

园丁水浇花。

Yuándīng sǎ shuǐ jiāo huā.

The gardener sprinkles water to water the flowers.

厨师在菜上盐。

Chúshī zài cài shàng sǎ yán.

The chef sprinkles salt on the dish.

腿就跑走了。

Tā sātuǐ jiù pǎo zǒu le.

He ran away immediately.

播种机在田里播。

Bòzhǒngjī zài tián lǐ sǎbō.

The seeder is scattering in the field.

娇地请求妈妈同意。

Tā sājiāo de qǐngqiú māma tóngyì.

She coquettishly asked for her mother's agreement.

农民在广阔的田野上种子。

Nóngmín zài guǎngkuò de tiányě shàng sǎ zhǒngzi.

Farmers sow seeds on the vast field.