酬

Phono-semantic compound:

酬 = 酉 (“wine; fermentation”, semantic) + 州 (“islet; region”, phonetic)

酉 — semantic element, originally indicating wine, drinking rituals, or actions related to feasts

州 — phonetic element providing sound (Middle Chinese d͡ʑu / t͡ɕu, leading to Sino-Korean 수)

In ancient Chinese banquets, to 酬 meant “to return a toast,” “to drink in answer,” or “reciprocate hospitality.”

From “reciprocate in drinking,” the meaning broadened to “repay,” “return in kind,” “reward.”

Hence modern meanings in:

報酬 (보수) — remuneration

酬謝 (수사) — to thank/recompense

酬答 (수답) — to reply (literary)

Repayment / recompense:

報酬 (보수) — payment; wages; compensation

酬謝 (수사) — to thank and recompense; courtesy reward

酬恩 (수은) — repaying kindness

Returning action / reciprocation:

酬答 (수답) — to respond, to reply (literary)

酬酢 (수작) — exchanging toasts; social exchange (classical → modern: “drinking together”)

Literary / formal idioms:

酬對 (수대) — to respond properly to questions (esp. scholar’s ability)

酬報 (수보) — to recompense; repay in kind

酬功 (수공) — to reward merit or service

酬 originally belonged to the vocabulary of 宴飲禮 (banquet-drinking ritual):

主人 — offers wine

賓客 — respond by returning a toast

This ritual reciprocity generated the general sense “to repay.”

Classical citations:

《詩經·小雅·鹿鳴》 (Classic of Poetry)

「我有旨酒，以燕樂嘉賓之心，則以為酬。」

“I have fine wine; through it we gladden our honored guests — thus do we offer our reciprocation (酬)” — 酬 = to return hospitality; to reciprocate with wine.

《史記·廉頗藺相如列傳》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「相如因持璧卻立，倚柱而笑，曰：‘臣所以報王者，唯有此酬耳。’」

“Xiangru stood back holding the jade and said, ‘This is all I can offer as recompense to Your Majesty’” — 酬 = recompense, repayment.

《莊子·大宗師》 (Zhuangzi)

「報彼以德，酬之以善。」

“Return him virtue, repay him with goodness” — moral or ethical repayment.

酧 — older interchangeable variant

醻 — extended form, rare and mostly historical