浇
jiāo · HSK 7
to water
💧🌱 氵 water radical + 尧 yáo phonetic = jiāo, to pour or water
The three-dot water radical 氵 carries the meaning (pouring, irrigating, watering); the right side 尧 yáo supplies the sound, shifted to jiāo. Same right-hand piece appears in 烧 shāo and 晓 xiǎo.
浇 — water radical 氵 + 尧 (yáo, phonetic)
浇 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The water radical 氵 signals the meaning—pouring or sprinkling water—while 尧 supplies the sound (yáo → jiāo). Originally meaning 'to pour water on,' it extended to watering plants and, figuratively, to thin or dilute.