勺
sháo · HSK 6
spoon
🥄 sháo sounds like SHOWER — a ladle showers broth into your bowl
勺 is a pictograph of a ladle. The curved stroke forms the scoop, and the dot inside represents liquid being held. Every shower of soup starts with one sháo.
勺 — ladle pictograph with dot for contents
勺 is a pictograph of a ladle or small spoon, with the curved stroke depicting the bowl and handle, and the dot inside representing the liquid or food being scooped. It originally meant 'ladle' and by extension became a unit of volume (one-tenth of a 合). The modern reading sháo preserves this old measuring-spoon sense.