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noun HSK 2
yóu
oil · fat · grease · petroleum

Meaning

油 refers to oil or fat in both culinary and industrial contexts. It encompasses cooking oils, petroleum products, and any oily or greasy substance. This is one of the most fundamental words in daily Chinese life, appearing in everything from kitchen conversations to gas stations.

Usage

Native speakers use 油 in countless everyday contexts: cooking (炒菜要放油), refueling vehicles (加油), and describing greasy food (太油了). It commonly combines with other characters to specify types of oil. The word is neutral in register and appropriate for all contexts.

Examples

  1. 01
    炒菜的时候要少放点油。
    Chǎo cài de shíhou yào shǎo fàng diǎn yóu.
    Use less oil when stir-frying vegetables.
  2. 02
    我的车快没油了，得去加油站。
    Wǒ de chē kuài méi yóu le, děi qù jiā yóu zhàn.
    My car is almost out of gas, I need to go to the gas station.

Measure words

  • 滴dī一滴油
  • 瓶píng一瓶油

Common collocations

  • 加油
    jiā yóu
    to refuel; to cheer on
  • 油炸
    yóu zhá
    deep-fried
  • 食用油
    shí yòng yóu
    edible oil, cooking oil
  • 花生油
    huā shēng yóu
    peanut oil

Origin

The character 油 combines the water radical 氵(shuǐ) on the left with 由 (yóu, meaning 'from' or 'reason') on the right, originally referring to liquid fat extracted from sources.

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