觴 (shāng) - Wine cup, goblet & to toast with wine

觴Tone 1

shāng ｜ 18 strokes ｜ radical:

善上

觴 · shāng

Wine cup, goblet;

to toast with wine;

a feast or drinking party.

Wine cup, gobletto toast with winea feast or drinking party.

Usage highlights

Wine cupTo offer a toastDrinking partyTo raise a cupFlowing cup feastGolden goblet

Synonyms

  • 杯— cup, glass (more general term)
  • 盏— small cup (especially for tea or wine)
  • 爵— ancient bronze wine vessel

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • They raised their wine cups in a toast (举觴).
  • The ancient poem describes a drinking feast (曲水流觴).
  • He offered a cup of wine to the guest (奉觴).
  • The literati enjoyed wine at the banquet (吟诗作觴).

Collocations

  • Wine cup(酒杯)
  • To offer a toast(献觴)
  • Drinking party(酒觴)
  • To raise a cup(举觴)
  • Flowing cup feast(流觴)
  • Golden goblet(金觴)

Idioms

  • Floating goblets on meandering water(曲水流觴)
  • Raise cups and exchange pledges(举觴称寿)
  • Exchange cups and change goblets(传杯换觴)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • In ancient China, 觴 referred to specific wine vessels used in aristocratic and scholarly drinking rituals.
  • The character appears frequently in classical poetry and literature describing feasts and celebrations.
  • The '曲水流觴' tradition was a famous literati activity where wine cups were floated down a winding stream for guests to retrieve and compose poems.

FAQ