Chinese word

炼

Pronunciation

Pinyinliàn

Meaning

  • verbsmelt

Example

工厂在炼钢。gōng chǎng zài liàn gāng

The factory is smelting steel.

Illustration for 炼 (smelt)

More examples

高炉里正在炼铁。gāo lú lǐ zhèng zài liàn tiě

The iron is being smelted in the blast furnace.

Core concept

Process a natural or mixed substance until unwanted parts are removed and the material is fit for a specific use.

Common phrases

  • 炼钢liàn gāng

    smelt steel

  • 炼油liàn yóu

    refine oil

  • 炼铁liàn tiě

    smelt iron

Similar words

提炼tí liàn: Takes a useful component out of a raw material or mixture and purifies it.
精炼jīng liàn: Purifies a material by removing impurities that reduce its quality or effectiveness.
熔炼róng liàn: Uses intense heat to melt material so its components can be separated or metal can be recovered.
提纯tí chún: Purifies a substance by taking unwanted matter out of a mixture.

Definition in Chinese

用熔炼、加热或化学方法除去原料中的杂质，使产物更纯或更适合使用，常用于冶金和化工领域。yòng róng liàn jiā rè huò huà xué fāng fǎ chú qù yuán liào zhōng de zá zhì shǐ chǎn wù gèng chún huò gèng shì hé shǐ yòng cháng yòng yú yě jīn hé huà gōng lǐng yù

Word origin

炼 (liàn, "to smelt or refine") uses 火 (huǒ, "fire") to show heat treatment, while 柬 (jiǎn, "select") serves mainly as its sound component.

Usage tips

  • English uses smelt mainly for extracting metal from ore, while this Chinese verb also covers industrial purification of substances such as oil, so the surrounding noun determines the process.

Other meanings

  • refineverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 精炼jīng liànrefineverb
  • 炼制liàn zhìrefineverb

Word lists with this word