Chinese word

碳

Pronunciation

Pinyintàn

Meaning

  • nouncarbon

Example

土壤里有很多碳。tú rǎng lǐ yǒu hěn duō tàn

There is a lot of carbon in the soil.

Illustration for 碳 (carbon)

More examples

为实现碳中和，企业开始投资清洁能源。wèi shí xiàn tàn zhōng hé qǐ yè kāi shǐ tóu zī qīng jié néng yuán

To achieve carbon neutrality, companies began investing in clean energy.

Core concept

A versatile atomic building block that joins through covalent bonds into chains and rings and forms the framework of living matter.

Common phrases

  • 有机碳yǒu jī tàn

    organic carbon

  • 碳中和tàn zhōng hé

    carbon neutrality

  • 碳足迹tàn zú jì

    carbon footprint

Similar words

二氧化碳èr yǎng huà tàn: A colorless gas containing one carbon atom joined to two oxygen atoms.
石墨shí mò: A black, layered carbon mineral that conducts electricity and is used in pencils.
钻石zuàn shí: A transparent carbon mineral with an extremely hard three-dimensional structure, used as a jewel.
炭tàn: A porous black solid produced by burning wood or plants, used as fuel or an absorbent.

Definition in Chinese

化学元素，符号C，原子序数为6，价电子数为4，能与多种元素形成共价键，是构成有机物和多种无机物的基本元素，在生命体和地球碳循环中占重要地位。huà xué yuán sù fú hào C yuán zi xù shù wèi 6 jià diàn zi shù wèi 4 néng yǔ duō zhǒng yuán sù xíng chéng gòng jià jiàn shì gòu chéng yǒu jī wù hé duō zhǒng wú jī wù de jī běn yuán sù zài shēng mìng tǐ hé dì qiú tàn xún huán zhōng zhàn zhòng yào dì wèi

Word origin

碳 (tàn, "carbon") is a modern chemical term built with 石 (shí, "stone") as the meaning element and 炭 (tàn, "charcoal") as the sound element, reflecting carbon's familiar charcoal form.

Usage tips

  • Environmental Chinese often uses 碳排放 (tàn páifàng, "carbon emissions") and 碳足迹 (tàn zújì, "carbon footprint"), so recognizing this character helps decode climate-related vocabulary.

Related words

  • 碳排放tàn pái fàngcarbon emissionsnoun
  • 碳交易tàn jiāo yìcarbon tradingnoun

Word lists with this word