糖
táng · HSK 3
sugar
🍬 糖 = 米 (rice) + 唐 (Tang dynasty); rice-derived sweetener
The 米 radical marks it as grain-based, since early Chinese sugar came from boiling rice or millet syrup. 唐 (táng) supplies the sound. Same character appears in 糖果 (candy) and 白糖 (white sugar).
糖 — rice radical 米 + 唐 táng (phonetic)
糖 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 米 (rice/grain) signals the meaning, since sugar was historically produced from grains and cane. The right side 唐 supplies the sound 'táng'. Originally referring to malt sugar made from grains, the word later broadened to mean sugar and sweets in general.