Chinese word

发霉

Pronunciation

Pinyinfā méi

Meaning

  • verbget moldy

Example

衣服放久了就会发霉。yī fú fàng jiǔ le jiù huì fā méi

Clothes get moldy if they are left for too long.

Illustration for 发霉 (get moldy)

More examples

面包如果不密封，很容易发霉。miàn bāo rú guǒ bú mì fēng hěn róng yì fā méi

Bread gets moldy easily if it is not sealed.

Core concept

A damp object develops visible mold and the stale odor that comes with it.

Common phrases

  • 衣服发霉yī fú fā méi

    clothes get moldy

  • 面包发霉miàn bāo fā méi

    bread gets moldy

  • 食物发霉shí wù fā méi

    food gets moldy

Similar words

霉变méi biàn: Become mold-damaged, with food or an object losing quality or looking worse.
长霉zhǎng méi: Develop a soft, fuzzy layer of mold on the surface.
变质biàn zhì: Change so that food or an object becomes unsafe or tastes or smells bad.
腐烂fǔ làn: Decay as tissue breaks down, turns soft, and loses its shape.

Definition in Chinese

物体因潮湿等原因被霉菌侵袭，表面出现霉斑并伴有霉味的状态或变化。wù tǐ yīn cháo shī děng yuán yīn bèi méi jūn qīn xí biǎo miàn chū xiàn méi bān bìng bàn yǒu méi wèi de zhuàng tài huò biàn huà

Word origin

The compound 发霉 (fāméi, "get moldy") joins 发 (fā, "develop") and 霉 (méi, "mold") to express mold appearing on a surface.

Usage tips

  • When explaining a cause, Chinese often places conditions such as humidity or poor ventilation before this verb, which helps describe why an object changed.

Related words

  • 发霉的fā méi demoldyadjective
  • 发霉味fā méi wèimoldy smellnoun

Word lists with this word