烟 meaning and stroke order
Cigarette or pipe tobacco; smoke; mist
How to write 烟, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 烟
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- cigarette or pipe tobacco
- smoke
- mist
- vapour
- tobacco plant
- (of the eyes) to be irritated by smoke
How 烟 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fire.
火 gives the meaning and 因 hints at the sound.
Radical: 火 (fire), shared by 128 characters on this site.
How to remember 烟
烟 is pictophonetic: 火 (huǒ, fire) on the left gives the meaning, and 因 (yīn) on the right hints at the sound yān. Picture a fire with smoke rising beside it, and remember that where there is fire, there is smoke.
烟 is most often used for cigarettes and smoking, as in 抽烟 (chōuyān) and 戒烟 (jiè yān). It also means smoke or mist in words like 烟雾 (yānwù) and 烟囱 (yāncōng). Example: 这里不能抽烟。(Zhèlǐ bù néng chōuyān.) You can't smoke here.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write the right side as 困 (kùn) or 囚 (qiú). The inside of the box is 大 (dà), the same as in 因 (yīn). Also keep the first tone yān, and do not confuse it with 盐 (yán, salt) or 眼 (yǎn, eye).
Common words with 烟
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 抽烟 | chōuyān | to smoke (tobacco) | HSK 4 |
| 吸烟 | xīyān | to smoke | HSK 4 |
| 烟花 | yānhuā | fireworks; prostitute (esp. in Yuan theater) | HSK 6 |
| 香烟 | xiāngyān | smoke from incense (burned as an offering to one's ancestors); (fig.) continuation of fami | HSK 7-9 |
| 戒烟 | jiè yān | to give up smoking | HSK 7-9 |
| 烟囱 | yāncōng | chimney; smokestack; stovepipe | HSK 7-9 |
| 烟火 | yānhuǒ | smoke and fire; cooked food | HSK 7-9 |
| 烟雾 | yānwù | smoke; mist | |
| 烟草 | yāncǎo | tobacco | |
| 冒烟 | màoyān | to discharge smoke; to fume with rage | |
| 烟灰缸 | yānhuīgāng | ashtray | |
| 烟斗 | yāndǒu | (smoking) pipe | |
| 浓烟 | nóngyān | thick smoke | |
| 烟头 | yāntóu | cigarette butt |
烟 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 烟
How many strokes are in 烟?
烟 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 烟 mean?
烟 (yān) means cigarette or pipe tobacco; smoke; mist. A common word with it is 抽烟 (chōuyān), meaning "to smoke (tobacco)".
How do you pronounce 烟?
烟 is pronounced yān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 烟?
The radical of 烟 is 火, which carries the idea of "fire". Dictionaries list 烟 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 烟?
The traditional form of 烟 is 煙 and 菸. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 烟 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 烟 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 烟 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
How do you say 'a pack of cigarettes' or 'one cigarette' in Chinese?
A pack is 一包烟 (yì bāo yān), and one cigarette is 一支烟 (yì zhī yān) or 一根烟 (yì gēn yān). On its own, 烟 in daily speech usually means cigarettes.
Does 烟花 mean fireworks or something else?
In modern Chinese 烟花 (yānhuā) means fireworks, as in 放烟花 (fàng yānhuā), to set off fireworks. The older meaning of prostitute appears mainly in classical texts such as Yuan theater.