白酒
bái jiǔ · HSK 5
spirit usually distilled from sorghum or maize
🥃 白 (white) + 酒 (alcohol) = clear, distilled liquor
白 means white or clear, and 酒 covers any alcoholic drink. Together 白酒 names the clear distilled spirit, typically made from sorghum, that is the default strong liquor across China.
白 — pictograph; resembles 日 (sun) with a stroke on top
白 is generally considered a pictograph, traditionally explained as depicting the sun rising with a ray of light above it, hence the meaning 'white' or 'bright.' Some scholars instead see it as a drawing of a thumbnail or an acorn. From 'bright' it extended to 'clear,' 'plain,' and 'to state plainly.'
酒 — water 氵 + 酉 (wine vessel)
酒 combines 氵 (water) with 酉, an ancient pictograph of a wine jar with a narrow neck. 酉 alone originally meant fermented liquor, but as it was borrowed for the tenth earthly branch, the water radical was added to keep the 'alcoholic drink' meaning clear.