How to say “smoke” in Chinese

烟
yān

smoke; cigarette

noun · HSK 4 · topic “Health and habits”

“Smoke” in Chinese is 烟, yān: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.

How to pronounce it

烟 is read yān. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

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

How to write it

烟
yān — smoke; cigarette

On the left, 火 “fire”; on the right, 因 yīn 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 “烟”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 烟. Tap the sound icon to listen.

  • 这里不能吸烟。zhèlǐbùnéngxīyānNo smoking here.
  • 我从来不吸烟。wǒcóngláibùxīyānI never smoke.
  • 你吸烟吗?nǐxīyānmaDo you smoke?
  • 我从来没吸过2烟wǒcóngláiméixīguoyānI've never smoked in my life.
  • 我再也不吸烟了。wǒzàiyěbùxīyānleI'll never smoke again.
  • 这里禁止吸烟。zhèlǐjìnzhǐxīyānSmoking is prohibited here.

More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.

More words from the lesson “Bad habits”

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

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “smoke” in Chinese?

“Smoke” in Chinese is 烟, pinyin yān.

What does 烟 mean?

烟 (yān) means “smoke; cigarette”.

How do you write 烟?

烟 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 烟?

烟 is read yān. Tones: yān — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“smoke” in the lesson “Bad habits”

This word is from the topic “Health and habits” of HSK 4. 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