酵

jiào
#3,524 most
frequent character
yeast, leaven, fermentation

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

酵 combines 酉, an alcohol container, with 孝 xiào, which supplies the sound. The container points to brewing, and it first meant leaven used for alcohol, sauces, and bread. That grew to 'yeast' and then 'to ferment'.

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Homophones

较jiào
compare, comparatively, relatively
觉jiào
a nap, a sleep
教jiào
religion, teaching, to make
校jiào
to check, to collate, to proofread

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