洒
sǎ · HSK 5
to sprinkle
💦 氵(water) + 西 (west) — water splashing outward
洒 decomposes into the water radical 氵 plus 西 (west), used phonetically. The water radical signals the meaning: scattering or sprinkling liquid. Common in 洒水 (sprinkle water) and 洒泪 (shed tears).
洒 — water radical 氵 + 西 (xī, phonetic)
洒 is a phonetic-semantic compound: 氵 (water) gives the meaning 'to sprinkle/splash water,' while 西 hints at the sound. Originally it depicted scattering water to clean or moisten the ground, and the sense later broadened to 'spill' or 'scatter' in general.