Chinese symbol for “dregs”
糟
zāo
dregs; draff; pickled in wine; rotten
The closest CC-CEDICT match for dregs is 糟 (zāo), defined as: dregs; draff; pickled in wine; rotten; messy; ruined.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “dregs”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 渣子 | zhā zi | dregs; bits |
| 滓 | zǐ | (bound form) dregs; sediment |
| 余孽 (餘孽) | yú niè | remaining evil element; surviving members (of an evil former regime); dregs (of a colonial administration) |
| 渣 | zhā | slag (in mining or smelting); dregs |
| 糟粕 | zāo pò | dross; dregs |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 糟.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 糟糕 | zāo gāo | too bad; how terrible |
| 乱七八糟 (亂七八糟) | luàn qī bā zāo | (idiom) chaotic; in disorder; muddled |
| 糟蹋 | zāo tà | to waste; to spoil; to ruin; to wreck |
| 一团糟 (一團糟) | yī tuán zāo | chaos; bungle |
| 糟粕 | zāo pò | dross; dregs |
| 乱糟糟 (亂糟糟) | luàn zāo zāo | chaotic; topsy turvy |
See also: Japanese symbol for “dregs”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.