Meaning of 烟
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- cigarette or pipe tobacco
- smoke
- mist
- vapour
- tobacco plant
- (of the eyes) to be irritated by smoke
Measure word: 根
- tobacco (variant of 煙|烟[yan1])
How to use 烟
烟 means smoke in general, and in everyday speech it very often means cigarettes or tobacco. It appears in common verbs like 抽烟 (chōuyān) and 戒烟 (jiè yān). Example: 这里不能抽烟。(Zhèlǐ bù néng chōuyān.) You can't smoke here.
烟 (yān) has 火 (fire) on the left and 因 (yīn) on the right, which also hints at the sound. Picture fire inside an enclosed box: it fills up with smoke.
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. It is yān, not yàn as in 燕 (yàn, swallow).
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.
烟 yān · cigarette or pipe tobacco · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 烟.
| 抽烟 | chōuyān | to smoke (tobacco) |
| 吸烟 | xīyān | to smoke |
| 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 |
| 戒烟 | jiè yān | to give up smoking |
| 烟囱 | yāncōng | chimney; smokestack; stovepipe |
| 烟火 | yānhuǒ | smoke and fire; cooked food |
| 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 |
Questions about 烟
What does 烟 mean?
烟 (yān) means "cigarette or pipe tobacco; smoke" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 烟?
烟 is made of 1 character: 烟 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 烟 an HSK word?
Yes. 烟 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 烟 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 烟 is written 煙.
What is the difference between 抽烟 and 吸烟?
Both mean to smoke. 抽烟 (chōuyān) is more casual and common in speech. 吸烟 (xīyān) sounds more formal and appears on signs, like 禁止吸烟 (jìnzhǐ xīyān), no smoking.
Does 香烟 mean cigarette or incense smoke?
It can mean both. In modern daily use 香烟 (xiāngyān) usually means cigarettes. The older sense is smoke from incense offered to ancestors, and figuratively the continuation of a family line.