稠

chóu

周 + 禾

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

chóu dense; crowded; thick; many

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 禾 represents the meaning and 周 represents the sound.

Semantic: 禾 Phonetic: 周

About

稠 is a phono-semantic compound. The left component, the semantic radical 禾 (hé, grain), indicates an agricultural origin, while the right component 周 (zhōu) provides the sound. It originally described grain planted closely together, thickly growing in a field. This specific meaning broadened to general concepts of density, crowding, thickness, or viscosity, applicable to populations, forests, or liquids with high concentration.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这粥煮得很稠。

Zhè zhōu zhǔ de hěn chóu.

This porridge is cooked very thick.

早晨的雾气稠密，看不清路。

Zǎochén de wùqì chóumì, kàn bù qīng lù.

The morning fog was dense, making it hard to see the road.

蜂蜜是一种黏稠的液体。

Fēngmì shì yī zhǒng niánchóu de yètǐ.

Honey is a viscous liquid.

这个地区人口稠密，交通拥堵。

Zhège dìqū rénkǒu chóumì, jiāotōng yōngdǔ.

This area has a dense population and congested traffic.

数据点稠集的区域需要重点分析。

Shùjù diǎn chóu jí de qūyù xūyào zhòngdiǎn fēnxī.

The region where the data points are densely clustered requires focused analysis.

他做的酱汁过于浓稠，需要加点水。

Tā zuò de jiàngzhī guòyú nóngchóu, xūyào jiā diǎn shuǐ.

The sauce he made is overly thick and needs some water added.

这种黏稠的原油很难开采和运输。

Zhè zhǒng niánchóu de yuányóu hěn nán kāicǎi hé yùnshū.

This kind of viscous crude oil is difficult to extract and transport.

流体在不同温度下黏稠度会发生变化。

Liútǐ zài bùtóng wēndù xià niánchóu dù huì fāshēng biànhuà.

The viscosity of a fluid changes at different temperatures.

Related Characters

Component: 周

Component: 禾

稠