Meaning of 抽烟
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- variant of 抽菸|抽烟[chou1 yan1]
- to smoke (tobacco)
How to use 抽烟
抽烟 is the everyday spoken way to say "to smoke" tobacco. It is a verb-object compound, so you can split it, as in 抽一支烟 (chōu yì zhī yān), to smoke a cigarette. Example: 这里不能抽烟。(Zhèlǐ bù néng chōuyān.) You can't smoke here.
抽 (chōu) means to draw or pull out, and 烟 (yān) means smoke, which has the fire radical 火 on the left. Together they picture drawing smoke in from a lit cigarette.
Common mistake: Learners often say 抽烟 to mean any smoke, but 烟 alone covers smoke from fires or cooking, while 抽烟 only means smoking tobacco. Also keep the tones straight: both syllables are first tone, chōuyān, not chòuyān.
抽烟 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
抽 chōu · to draw out · 8 strokes
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烟 yān · cigarette or pipe tobacco · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 抽烟.
| 吸烟 | xīyān | to smoke |
| 抽奖 | chōujiǎng | to draw a prize; a lottery |
| 烟花 | yānhuā | fireworks; prostitute (esp. in Yuan theater) |
| 香烟 | xiāngyān | smoke from incense (burned as an offering to one's ancestors); (fig.) continuation of fami |
| 抽屉 | chōuti | drawer |
| 戒烟 | jiè yān | to give up smoking |
| 烟囱 | yāncōng | chimney; smokestack; stovepipe |
| 烟火 | yānhuǒ | smoke and fire; cooked food |
| 抽象 | chōuxiàng | abstract; abstraction |
| 抽签 | chōuqiān | to perform divination with sticks; to draw lots |
| 烟雾 | yānwù | smoke; mist |
| 烟草 | yāncǎo | tobacco |
Questions about 抽烟
What does 抽烟 mean?
抽烟 (chōuyān) means "variant of 抽菸|抽烟[chou1 yan1]" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 抽烟?
抽烟 is made of 2 characters: 抽 (8 strokes), 烟 (10 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 抽烟 an HSK word?
Yes. 抽烟 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 抽烟 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 抽烟 is written 抽煙.
What is the difference between 抽烟 and 吸烟?
They mean the same thing. 抽烟 (chōuyān) is more casual and common in speech. 吸烟 (xīyān) sounds more formal and appears on signs, such as 禁止吸烟 (jìnzhǐ xīyān), no smoking.
How do I say "quit smoking" in Chinese?
Use 戒烟 (jiè yān), to give up smoking. For example, 我爸爸去年戒烟了。(Wǒ bàba qùnián jiè yān le.) My dad quit smoking last year.