Chinese word

油

Pronunciation

Pinyinyóu

Meaning

  • nounoil

Example

煎鱼的时候别放太多油。jiān yú de shí hòu bié fàng tài duō yóu

Don't add too much oil when frying fish.

Illustration for 油 (oil)

More examples

炸东西的时候要小心热油。zhà dōng xī de shí hòu yào xiǎo xīn rè yóu

Be careful with hot oil when frying things.

Core concept

A fatty liquid that forms a thin coating, adding smoothness, shine, or the ability to burn.

Common phrases

  • 倒油dào yóu

    pour oil

  • 放油fàng yóu

    add oil

  • 香油xiāng yóu

    sesame oil

Similar words

食用油shí yòng yóu: Edible liquid prepared by pressing or refining and used to cook food.
脂肪zhī fáng: An energy-rich substance in animals and plants that tends to become solid.
汽油qì yóu: An easily evaporated fuel for running cars and other machines.

Definition in Chinese

主要指能覆盖表面并产生光滑或可燃特性的脂状液体，常见于食用油、润滑油与燃料等。zhǔ yào zhǐ néng fù gài biǎo miàn bìng chǎn shēng guāng huá huò kě rán tè xìng de zhī zhuàng yè tǐ cháng jiàn yú shí yòng yóu rùn huá yóu yǔ rán liào děng

Word origin

The written form 油 (yóu, "oil") uses 氵 (shuǐ, "water") + 由 (yóu, "sound cue"), so its left side connects the word with liquid and its right side helps mark the sound.

Usage tips

  • The same word appears in cooking, machines, and fuel, so the surrounding topic often shows which kind of substance is meant.

Other meanings

  • fatnoun

Word lists with this word