音読み: サン
訓読み: すい（rare）
画数: 14 strokes
部首: 酉（とりへん）
Meaning
Acid, sour, bitterness. Often used in chemistry or to describe flavor, as well as in metaphorical senses.
- 酸味 — sourness
- 酸性 — acidity, acid nature
- 酸素 — oxygen
- 乳酸 — lactic acid
- 炭酸 — carbonic acid, soda
酸 combines the 酉 radical (related to fermented liquids) with the 音符 (phonetic) component 夋 to form the concept of something sour or acidic. It’s used in scientific terms as well as everyday food vocabulary like 酸っぱい (sour).
この果物は 少し 酸味がある。
This fruit has a slight sourness.
酸素は 生きるために 必要です。
Oxygen is essential for life.
酸 is most commonly read as サン and appears in compound words related to acids, chemistry, or sour flavor. The 訓読み すい is rarely used on its own in modern Japanese.