汁

• Pinyin: zhī
• Hanzi breakdown: 汁 = 氵 (water) + 十 (phonetic — ten)

Meaning

Juice; liquid extracted from fruits, vegetables, or meat. Also used for sauces and gravies.

A highly productive character in culinary contexts. Common compounds include 果汁 (fruit juice), 肉汁 (meat juice/gravy), 橙汁 (orange juice), and 原汁原味 (original flavour — authentic). Also appears in 脑汁 (brain juice) in the idiom 绞尽脑汁.

Examples

1. 她每天早上都要喝一杯鲜榨橙汁补充维生素。 She drinks a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice every morning to get her vitamins.
2. 这道菜淋上特制酱汁，味道更加鲜美。 Drizzled with a special sauce, this dish tastes even better.
3. 牛排煎好后，锅里剩下的肉汁可以用来调制酱料。 After the steak is done, the juices left in the pan can be used to make a sauce.

Usage Guide

Context: food, cooking, beverages

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 请给我来一杯苹果汁，不加冰。(Please give me an apple juice, no ice.)
• 这道菜要保留原汁原味，不要加太多调料。(This dish should retain its original flavour — don't add too many seasonings.)

Don't Say

• 我喝了一杯汁 — 汁 rarely stands alone; specify the type, such as 果汁, 橙汁, or 蔬菜汁

Origin & History

Pictophonetic: 氵 (water radical) + 十 (phonetic component)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal