汤勺 (tāng sháo) is a compound noun meaning 'soup spoon' — a utensil specifically designed for serving or eating soup. The first character, 汤 (tāng), means 'soup' or 'broth', while the second, 勺 (sháo), means 'spoon' — literally 'a small ladle'. Together, they denote a spoon with a deeper, rounder bowl and often a longer handle than a regular teaspoon, optimized for scooping liquid-based dishes like hot-and-sour soup or wonton soup.

This word is commonly used in kitchen contexts, cooking instructions, dining etiquette, and household inventories. Unlike generic terms like 勺子 (sháozi, 'spoon'), 汤勺 specifies function and form: it implies size and shape suitable for soups, not for stirring tea or measuring ingredients. It’s a standard item in Chinese households and restaurants, and appears frequently in recipes, grocery lists, and table-setting descriptions.