Meaning of 维生素
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- vitamin
How to use 维生素
维生素 is the everyday word for vitamins, used for food, health and supplements. Specific vitamins add a letter after it, like 维生素C. Example: 橙子里有很多维生素C。(Chéngzi li yǒu hěn duō wéishēngsù C.) Oranges have a lot of vitamin C.
Break it into 维 (wéi, to maintain), 生 (shēng, life) and 素 (sù, basic element). A vitamin is a basic element that maintains life, and the sound wéi also echoes the English "vi" in vitamin.
Common mistake: Learners often write 维 with the 隹 part wrong or swap it for 唯 (wéi, only), which has a mouth radical instead of the silk radical 纟. Also keep 素 in fourth tone (sù), not second.
维生素 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.
维 wéi · to preserve · 11 strokes
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生 shēng · to grow · 5 strokes
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素 sù · raw silk · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 维生素.
| 先生 | xiānsheng | teacher; gentleman; sir; mister (Mr.) |
| 医生 | yīshēng | doctor; medical practitioner |
| 生气 | shēngqì | to get angry; to be furious; vitality; liveliness |
| 学生 | xuéshēng | student; schoolchild |
| 生日 | shēngrì | birthday |
| 生病 | shēngbìng | to fall ill |
| 女生 | nǚshēng | schoolgirl; female student |
| 男生 | nánshēng | schoolboy; male student |
| 大学生 | dàxuéshēng | university student; college student |
| 小学生 | xiǎoxuéshēng | primary school student; schoolchild |
| 中学生 | zhōngxuéshēng | middle-school student; high school student |
| 生活 | shēnghuó | to live; life |
Questions about 维生素
What does 维生素 mean?
维生素 (wéishēngsù) means "vitamin" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 维生素?
维生素 is made of 3 characters: 维 (11 strokes), 生 (5 strokes), 素 (10 strokes). That is 26 strokes in total.
Is 维生素 an HSK word?
Yes. 维生素 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 维生素 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 维生素 is written 維生素.
How do you say vitamin pills or supplements in Chinese?
You can say 维生素片 (wéishēngsù piàn), meaning vitamin tablets. The general word for nutritional supplements is 保健品 (bǎojiànpǐn).
How do Chinese speakers read the letter in 维生素C?
Most people just say the English letter, so 维生素C sounds like wéishēngsù "C". In casual speech it is often shortened to 维C (wéi C).