How to say “vitamin” in Chinese

维生素

wéishēngsù

vitamin

noun · HSK 6 · topic “Illness and treatment”

“Vitamin” in Chinese is 维生素, wéi shēng sù: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke.

How to pronounce it

维生素 is read wéi shēng sù: 3 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

wéi — 2nd tonerising, like a surprised “huh?”

shēng — 1st tonehigh and level, like a long note

sù — 4th tonesharply falling, like “Stop!”

How to write it

维

wéi — tie; maintain

On the left, 纟 “thread”: to tie. 二维码 — a “two-dimensional code”.

生

shēng — be born, life

In 学生 it means “one who”: one who studies. It is read with the neutral tone: sheng.

素

sù — plain; element, basis

Below, 糸 “thread”: originally undyed silk. Hence “plain” and “basis”.

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 “维生素”.

More words from the lesson “How to take a medicine”

Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “vitamin” in Chinese?

“Vitamin” in Chinese is 维生素, pinyin wéishēngsù.

What does 维生素 mean?

维生素 (wéishēngsù) means “vitamin”.

How do you write 维生素?

维生素 is 3 characters: 维 (wéi) — tie; maintain; 生 (shēng) — be born, life; 素 (sù) — plain; element, basis. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 维生素?

维生素 is read wéishēngsù. Tones: wéi — second tone, shēng — first tone, sù — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“vitamin” in the lesson “How to take a medicine”

This word is from the topic “Illness and treatment” 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.

Start for free