Meaning of 盐
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- salt
Measure word: 粒
How to use 盐
盐 (yán) means salt and is common in cooking and everyday talk. The usual measure word is 勺 for a spoonful or 点儿 for a little. Example: 汤里再放点儿盐。(Tāng lǐ zài fàng diǎnr yán.) Put a little more salt in the soup.
The bottom of 盐 is 皿 (mǐn), a dish or vessel. Picture a dish on the table holding salt, the most basic seasoning.
Common mistake: Learners often say "eat salt" with 吃盐 when talking about adding it to food. In cooking you usually say 放盐 (fàng yán), to put in salt. Also keep the second tone. 盐 (yán) should not be confused with 眼 (yǎn, eye) or 烟 (yān, smoke).
盐 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.
盐 yán · salt · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 盐.
| 盐水 | yánshuǐ | salt water; brine |
| 椒盐 | jiāoyán | seasoning mix of Sichuan pepper powder and salt |
Questions about 盐
What does 盐 mean?
盐 (yán) means "salt" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 盐?
盐 is made of 1 character: 盐 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 盐 an HSK word?
Yes. 盐 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 盐 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 盐 is written 鹽.
How do you say a food is too salty in Chinese?
You use 咸 (xián), not 盐. For example, 这个菜太咸了 (zhège cài tài xián le) means this dish is too salty. 盐 is the noun salt, and 咸 is the adjective salty.
What is 椒盐 in a Chinese restaurant menu?
椒盐 (jiāoyán) is a seasoning mix of Sichuan pepper powder and salt. Dishes labeled with it, such as 椒盐虾, are usually fried and then coated with this mix.