How is 油 pronounced?

油 is pronounced “yóu” in pinyin.

What HSK level is 油?

油 belongs to HSK 2 in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.

How do you write 油?

Follow the stroke-order animation above; 油 is written using standard stroke order. Practice it in the writing trainer.

HSK 2noun

油

yóu

油 (yóu) means “oil; fat; grease; petroleum; to apply tung oil, paint or varnish; oily; greasy; glib; cunning”. It is an HSK 2 Chinese character in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.

Stroke order

Practice writing

Example

做饭要用油。

Zuòfàn yào yòng yóu.

Cooking requires oil.

Words containing 油

加油站jiā yóu zhàngas station 柴油chái yóudiesel fuel 酱油jiàng yóusoy sauce 汽油qì yóugasoline 加油jiā yóuto add oil; to top up with gas; to refuel; to accelerate; to step on the gas; (fig.) to make an extra effort; to cheer sb on 油炸yóu zháto deep fry 石油shí yóuoil; petroleum 油腻yóu nìgreasy food; oily food; (of food) greasy; oily; fatty; (neologism, attested by 2017) (of a middle-aged man) obnoxious; pretentious; vulgar 油漆yóu qīoil paints; lacquer; to paint

More HSK 2 vocabulary

HSK 2 →

白báisurname Bai 百bǎisurname Bai 帮助bāng zhùassistance; aid; to help; to assist 报纸bào zhǐnewspaper; newsprint 比bǐBelgium; Belgian; abbr. for 比利时别biésurname Bie 宾馆bīn guǎnguesthouse; lodge; hotel 长chánglength; long; forever; always; constantly 唱歌chàng gēto sing a song 出chūto go out; to come out; to occur; to produce; to go beyond; to rise; to put forth; to happen; (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result); classifier for dramas, plays, operas etc 穿chuānto wear; to put on; to dress; to bore through; to pierce; to perforate; to penetrate; to pass through; to thread 次cìnext in sequence; second; the second (day, time etc); secondary; vice-; sub-; infra-; inferior quality; substandard; order; sequence; hypo- (chemistry); classifier for enumerated events: time

Frequently asked questions

What does 油 mean?: 油 (yóu) means “oil; fat; grease; petroleum; to apply tung oil, paint or varnish; oily; greasy; glib; cunning”. It is an HSK 2 word.
How is 油 pronounced?: 油 is pronounced “yóu” in pinyin.
What HSK level is 油?: 油 belongs to HSK 2 in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.
How do you write 油?: Follow the stroke-order animation above; 油 is written using standard stroke order. Practice it in the writing trainer.

Updated: 2026-07-18