油 meaning and stroke order
Oil; fat; grease
How to write 油, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 油
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- oil
- fat
- grease
- petroleum
- to apply tung oil, paint or varnish
- oily
How 油 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 由 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 油
油 (yóu) is pictophonetic: the water radical 氵 on the left tells you it is a liquid, and 由 (yóu) on the right gives the sound. Think of oil as a liquid that sounds like 由.
油 covers cooking oil, fat, grease, petroleum and fuel, and it appears in many everyday words like 酱油 (jiàngyóu, soy sauce) and 汽油 (qìyóu, gasoline). 加油 (jiāyóu) literally means to add fuel, but people shout it to cheer someone on. 比赛加油 (bǐsài jiāyóu), go for it in the match.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 油 with 抽 (chōu, to pull or smoke) and 袖 (xiù, sleeve), which share the 由 part but have different radicals. Check for the three water dots of 氵 on the left when you mean oil.
Common words with 油
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 加油 | jiāyóu | to add oil; to top up with gas; to refuel; to accelerate; to step on the gas | HSK 2 |
| 石油 | shíyóu | oil; petroleum | HSK 3 |
| 汽油 | qìyóu | gasoline | HSK 4 |
| 加油站 | jiāyóuzhàn | gas station | HSK 4 |
| 酱油 | jiàngyóu | soy sauce | HSK 6 |
| 油画 | yóuhuà | oil painting | HSK 7-9 |
| 燃油 | rányóu | fuel oil | HSK 7-9 |
| 香油 | xiāngyóu | sesame oil; perfumed oil | HSK 7-9 |
| 奶油 | nǎiyóu | cream; butter | |
| 黄油 | huángyóu | butter | |
| 油漆 | yóuqī | oil paints; lacquer | |
| 油炸 | yóuzhá | to deep fry | |
| 油门 | yóumén | accelerator (pedal); gas pedal | |
| 油箱 | yóuxiāng | fuel tank |
油 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 油
How many strokes are in 油?
油 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 油 mean?
油 (yóu) means oil; fat; grease. A common word with it is 加油 (jiāyóu), meaning "to add oil; to top up with gas; to refuel; to accelerate; to step on the gas".
How do you pronounce 油?
油 is pronounced yóu, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 油?
The radical of 油 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 油 under this radical.
Is 油 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 油 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
Why do Chinese people say 加油 to encourage someone?
加油 (jiāyóu) originally means to add fuel to a vehicle, so it carries the idea of giving more power. It is now the standard way to say come on, keep going, or good luck in sports, exams and hard tasks.
Can 油 describe food or a person?
Yes. As an adjective, 油 means oily, as in 这个菜太油了 (zhège cài tài yóu le), this dish is too oily. In casual speech, 油 or 油腻 (yóunì) can also describe someone who seems slick or greasy in manner.