汽 qì — steam; vapor
锅里的水开了，冒出了热汽。Guō lǐ de shuǐ kāi le, mào chū le rè qì.The water in the pot boiled and gave off hot steam.
Common words: 汽车 (qì chē)、公共汽车 (gōng gòng qì chē)、汽油 (qì yóu)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "vapor"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "vapor", including 汽 (qì), 氛 (fēn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words, and examples.
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "vapor" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 汽 (qì), 氛 (fēn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span qì, fēn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 汽 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 汽 qìsteam; vaporUseful words: 汽车, 公共汽车
- 氛 fēnmiasma; vaporUseful words: 气氛, 氛围
Common words for these 2 "vapor" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 汽 (qì) — so "vapor" 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 "vapor".
氛 fēn — miasma; vapor
教室里的学习氛围十分浓厚。Jiào shì lǐ de xué xí fēn wéi shí fēn nóng hòu.The learning atmosphere in the classroom is very strong.
Common words: 气氛 (qì fēn)、氛围 (fēn wéi)、香氛 (xiāng fēn)
All 2 characters
Open 汽、氛 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.