酒 (jiǔ)

wine (esp. rice wine); liquor; spirits; alcoholic beverage; CL:杯[bei1]

HSK 3.1 level 2
10 strokes

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 酉 represents the sound.

Shuowen Jiezi

《說文》：“酒，就也，所以就人性之善惡。从水、从酉，酉亦聲。一曰造也，吉凶所造也。古者儀狄作酒醪，禹嘗之而美，逐儀狄。杜康作秫酒。”

Components

氵 (meaning) — 氵 is a component form of 水.
酉 (sound, meaning) — Pictograph of a container for wine.