炼 liàn — refine; smelt; refine
钢铁是经过反复锤炼才制成的。Gāng tiě shì jīng guò fǎn fù chuí liàn cái zhì chéng de.Steel is made through repeated forging.
Common words: 锻炼 (duàn liàn)、提炼 (tí liàn)、炼制 (liàn zhì)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "refine"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "refine", including 炼 (liàn), 炼 (liàn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "refine" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 炼 (liàn), 炼 (liàn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters happen to share the reading liàn, so lean on the words and written forms to tell them apart. The example sentences further down show how 炼 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 炼 liànrefine; smelt; refineUseful words: 锻炼, 提炼
- 炼 liànrefine; smelt; refineUseful words: 锻炼, 提炼
Common words for these 2 "refine" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 炼 (liàn) — so "refine" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
锻炼duàn liànto toughen; to temper; to engage in physical exercise; to work out提炼tí liànto extract (ore, minerals etc); to refine; to purify; to process炼制liàn zhì(chemistry) to refine锻炼duàn liànto toughen; to temper; to engage in physical exercise; to work out提炼tí liànto extract (ore, minerals etc); to refine; to purify; to process炼制liàn zhì(chemistry) to refine
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "refine".
炼 liàn — refine; smelt; refine
钢铁是经过反复锤炼才制成的。Gāng tiě shì jīng guò fǎn fù chuí liàn cái zhì chéng de.Steel is made through repeated forging.
Common words: 锻炼 (duàn liàn)、提炼 (tí liàn)、炼制 (liàn zhì)
All 2 characters
Open 炼、炼 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.