The kanji 酔 means "drunk," "intoxicated," or "to become intoxicated." It describes the state of being under the influence of alcohol or other substances, leading to a loss of coordination, impaired judgment, and altered mental state. It can also figuratively refer to being "carried away" or "enthralled" by something.

・On-yomi (音読み): スイ (su-i) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): よう (yo-u)

⚫︎ 酔っぱらい Translation: a drunkard; a person who is drunk. ⚫︎ 酔う Translation: to get drunk; to become intoxicated. ⚫︎ 泥酔 Translation: being dead drunk; being very intoxicated.

The kanji 酔 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). The semantic component is 酉 (とり, tori), which originally depicted a wine jar and later came to represent alcohol or the time of the rooster (酉 is the 10th of the twelve earthly branches). The phonetic component is 卒 (そつ, sotsu), which is used to indicate the sound of the kanji. Therefore, the character suggests the state of being "drunk" or "intoxicated" due to alcohol. The radical 酉is often associated with alcohol-related words.