Chinese word

灰尘

Pronunciation

Pinyinhuī chén

Meaning

  • noundust

Example

房间里有很多灰尘。fáng jiān lǐ yǒu hěn duō huī chén

There is a lot of dust in the room.

Illustration for 灰尘 (dust)

More examples

我们用吸尘器把桌上的灰尘吸走了。wǒ men yòng xī chén qì bǎ zhuō shàng de huī chén xī zǒu le

We used a vacuum cleaner to vacuum up the dust on the table.

Core concept

Fine, dry particles that settle on surfaces, make them look dirty, and scatter when moved.

Common phrases

  • 吸走灰尘xī zǒu huī chén

    vacuum up dust

  • 除掉灰尘chú diào huī chén

    remove dust

  • 擦去灰尘cā qù huī chén

    wipe away dust

Similar words

粉尘fěn chén: Very fine powder or dust that can float in the air and harm health when breathed in.
尘埃chén āi: Extremely fine dust that drifts through the air or settles on objects.

Definition in Chinese

细小且干燥的固体碎屑或粉末，常使物体表面显得脏乱，通常可通过擦拭或吸尘去除。xì xiǎo qiě gān zào de gù tǐ suì xiè huò fěn mò cháng shǐ wù tǐ biǎo miàn xiǎn de zàng luàn tōng cháng kě tōng guò cā shì huò xī chén qù chú

Word origin

灰尘 (huīchén, "dust") is formed from 灰 (huī, "ash") + 尘 (chén, "fine dirt"), presenting household dust as fine, ash-like matter.

Usage tips

  • 灰尘 (huīchén, "dust") is usually treated as a mass noun in everyday Chinese, so 很多灰尘 (hěnduō huīchén, "a lot of dust") needs a quantity word rather than a plural ending.

Word lists with this word