餿 (sōu) - sour, spoiled (of food) & rancid

餿Tone 1

sōu ｜ 17 strokes ｜ radical:

树檀

餿 · sōu

sour, spoiled (of food);

rancid;

stale;

(figuratively) rotten, bad, or unworkable (of ideas, plans, etc.

).

sour, spoiled (of food)rancidstale

Usage highlights

sour foodspoiled leftoversbad idearancid smellsour and smellyturn sour

Synonyms

  • 酸— sour (taste, not necessarily spoiled)
  • 腐坏— rotten, decayed

Antonyms

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The milk has gone sour (牛奶馊了).
  • Don't eat spoiled food (不要吃馊了的食物).
  • He came up with a lousy idea (他想出了一个馊主意).
  • The leftover rice turned sour overnight (剩饭过夜就馊了).

Collocations

  • sour food(馊饭)
  • spoiled leftovers(馊了的剩菜)
  • bad idea(馊主意)
  • rancid smell(馊味)
  • sour and smelly(又馊又臭)
  • turn sour(变馊)

Idioms

  • A stinking, rotten idea(馊主意)
  • Food gone sour and smelly(饭菜馊臭)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Strongly associated with food spoilage in warm climates before refrigeration.
  • Used metaphorically to criticize foolish or impractical ideas as 'spoiled' or 'rotten'.

FAQ