dissolve

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 溶 has 13 strokes and describes melting or dissolving.
• Basic usage: 溶ける is read とける, and 溶かす is read とかす.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• What melts and making it melt
  • 氷がすぐ溶ける describes ice melting.
  • チョコレートをゆっくり溶かす describes melting chocolate, with を marking the object.
• Dissolving in a liquid
  • 温かい牛乳に砂糖を溶かした means dissolving sugar in warm milk. に marks the liquid in which the sugar dissolves.