How to say “oil” in Chinese
oil; gasoline
“Oil” in Chinese is 油, yóu: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
油 is read yóu. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 氵 “water”; on the right, 由 yóu 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 “油”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 油. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 车快没油了得3去加油chēkuàiméiyóule,děiqùjiāyóuWe're almost out of gas, we need to fill up.
- 我每天早上喝豆浆，吃油条。wǒměitiānzǎoshanghēdòujiāng,chīyóutiáoEvery morning I drink soy milk and eat youtiao.
- 炒菜的时候放一点儿酱油。chǎocàideshíhoufàngyìdiǎnrjiàngyóuWhen you stir-fry, add a little soy sauce.
- 这个国家的石油主要依靠进口zhègeguójiādeshíyóuzhǔyàoyīkàojìnkǒuThis country relies mainly on imports for its oil.
- 石油是重要的能源shíyóushìzhòngyàodenéngyuánOil is an important energy resource.
- 政府大力发展新能源，以便减少对石油的依赖。zhèngfǔdàlìfāzhǎnxīnnéngyuán,yǐbiànjiǎnshǎoduìshíyóudeyīlàiThe government is vigorously developing new energy sources to reduce dependence on oil.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “In the Kitchen”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “oil” in Chinese?
“Oil” in Chinese is 油, pinyin yóu.
What does 油 mean?
油 (yóu) means “oil; gasoline”.
How do you write 油?
油 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 油?
油 is read yóu. Tones: yóu — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“oil” in the lesson “In the Kitchen”
This word is from the topic “Food and Cooking” 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.
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