煙 meaning and stroke order
Smoke, soot; opium; tobacco, cigarettes
How to write 煙, stroke by stroke
13 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
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
Meaning of 煙
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 煙 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fire.
火 gives the meaning and 垔 hints at the sound.
Radical: 火 (fire), shared by 128 characters on this site.
How to remember 煙
煙 (yān) is fire 火 on the left with 垔 (yīn) on the right. 火 tells you the meaning, smoke from a fire, and 垔 gives the sound, so picture fire sending up smoke.
煙 is the traditional form used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Mainland China writes it as 烟, and the common words listed here use that form. It covers smoke, mist, and especially cigarettes and tobacco, as in 抽煙 (chōuyān) or 戒煙 (jiè yān). Example: 這裡不能抽煙。(Zhèlǐ bù néng chōuyān.) You can't smoke here.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes swap the right side of 煙 with the similar-looking 西 over 土 in other characters, or mix up 煙 with 湮 (yān, to sink or be buried), which has the water radical. Also keep the first tone. Do not say yàn, which sounds like 燕 (swallow) or 煙's look-alike 焰 (flame).
Common words with 煙
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 抽煙 | chōuyān | to smoke (tobacco) | HSK 4 |
| 吸煙 | xīyān | to smoke | HSK 4 |
| 煙花 | yānhuā | fireworks; prostitute (esp. in Yuan theater) | HSK 6 |
| 香煙 | xiāngyān | smoke from incense (burned as an offering to one's ancestors); (fig.) continuation of fami | HSK 7-9 |
| 戒煙 | jiè yān | to give up smoking | HSK 7-9 |
| 煙囪 | yāncōng | chimney; smokestack; stovepipe | HSK 7-9 |
| 煙火 | yānhuǒ | smoke and fire; cooked food | HSK 7-9 |
| 煙霧 | yānwù | smoke; mist | |
| 煙草 | yāncǎo | tobacco | |
| 冒煙 | màoyān | to discharge smoke; to fume with rage | |
| 煙灰缸 | yānhuīgāng | ashtray | |
| 煙斗 | yāndǒu | (smoking) pipe | |
| 濃煙 | nóngyān | thick smoke | |
| 煙頭 | yāntóu | cigarette butt |
Questions about 煙
How many strokes are in 煙?
煙 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 煙 mean?
煙 (yān) means smoke, soot; opium; tobacco, cigarettes. A common word with it is 抽烟 (chōuyān), meaning "to smoke (tobacco)".
How do you pronounce 煙?
煙 is pronounced yān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 煙?
The radical of 煙 is 火, which carries the idea of "fire". Dictionaries list 煙 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 煙?
煙 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 烟, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Does 煙 mean smoke or cigarette?
It can mean both. Context decides. 一根煙 (yì gēn yān) is one cigarette, while 冒煙 (mào yān) means to give off smoke.
What does 煙花 mean?
In modern Chinese 煙花 (yānhuā) usually means fireworks, as in 放煙花 (fàng yānhuā), to set off fireworks. In old literature, such as Yuan theater, it could also refer to prostitutes, so read older texts carefully.