Meaning
oil; sly
Chinese: 狡猾。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “you” becomes a different word in each tone. 油 is the 2nd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 加油jiā yóuto add oil; to top up with gas; to refuel; to accelerate
- 石油shí yóuoil; petroleum
- 汽油qì yóugasoline
- 加油站jiā yóu zhàngas station
- 酱油jiàng yóusoy sauce
Example Sentence
炒菜的时候要放一点儿油。Chǎo cài de shí hou yào fàng yì diǎnr yóu.When stir-frying, you should add a little oil.
炒菜chǎo càito stir-fry的deof时候shí houtime要yāoto want放fàngto put一点儿yī diǎn rerhua variant of 一点油yóuoil。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
The water/liquid radical 氵 (meaning) plus 由 (yóu, sound): a liquid — ‘oil’.
A way to remember it
A liquid (氵) + the sound 由 — oil.
Easy to confuse with
- 由‘From’: the sound part of 油, on its own.