酥
sū · HSK 7
pastry
🥐🍪 酥 = 酉 wine-jar + 禾 grain; once meant rich dairy, now crisp flaky pastry
The 酉 side is the fermentation/wine-jar radical and 禾 is grain, so the character first named buttery dairy richness before shifting to mean crisp and flaky. Sound cue: sū rhymes with Sue.
酥 — 禾 grain + 酉 wine/fermented vessel
酥 combines 酉 (a jar of fermented liquid) with 禾 (grain), originally referring to a soft dairy or fermented food like clotted cream or butter from nomadic cultures. The meaning later extended to anything light, flaky, or crisp, as in pastries. Today it commonly describes crumbly textures and tender, melt-in-the-mouth foods.