油 yóu — oil; sly
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.
Common words: 加油 (jiā yóu)、石油 (shí yóu)、汽油 (qì yóu)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "sly"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "sly", including 油 (yóu), 鬼 (guǐ). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words, and examples.
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "sly" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 油 (yóu), 鬼 (guǐ) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span yóu, guǐ — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 油 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 油 yóuoil; slyUseful words: 加油, 石油
- 鬼 guǐghost; sly; craftyUseful words: 酒鬼, 胆小鬼
Common words for these 2 "sly" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 油 (yóu) — so "sly" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
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 "sly".
鬼 guǐ — ghost; sly; crafty
这个故事里有一个吓人的鬼。Zhè ge gù shi lǐ yǒu yí ge xià rén de guǐ.There is a scary ghost in this story.
Common words: 酒鬼 (jiǔ guǐ)、胆小鬼 (dǎn xiǎo guǐ)、魔鬼 (mó guǐ)
All 2 characters
Open 油、鬼 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.