How to say “smell” in Chinese
smell, odor
“Smell” in Chinese is 气味, qì wèi: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
气味 is read qì wèi: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
In 不客气 it is read with the neutral tone: qi.
On the left, 口 “mouth”; on the right, 未 wèi hints at the sound.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “气味”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 气味. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 冰箱里有一种奇怪的气味bīngxiāngliyǒuyìzhǒngqíguàideqìwèiThere's some strange smell in the fridge.
- 这牛奶的气味有点儿奇怪。zhèniúnǎideqìwèiyǒudiǎnrqíguàiThis milk smells a bit strange.
More words from the lesson “Freshness and appetite”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “smell” in Chinese?
“Smell” in Chinese is 气味, pinyin qìwèi.
What does 气味 mean?
气味 (qìwèi) means “smell, odor”.
How do you write 气味?
气味 is 2 characters: 气 (qì) — air, spirit; 味 (wèi) — taste, smell. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 气味?
气味 is read qìwèi. Tones: qì — fourth tone, wèi — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“smell” in the lesson “Freshness and appetite”
This word is from the topic “Food and taste” of HSK 6. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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