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烟瘾 (yān yǐn) — nicotine addiction; craving for cigarettes; smoking addiction

Definition

Noun for an addiction to smoking or a strong craving for cigarettes — the 瘾 specifically names the habit/hunger, not the act of smoking itself.

noun
nicotine addictioncraving for cigarettessmoking addiction

Examples

  • 烟瘾，。
    Tā yān yǐn hěn dà, yì tiān yào chōu liǎng bāo yān.
    He's a heavy smoker — he goes through two packs a day.
  • 烟瘾，。
    Tā yān yǐn fàn le, zuò lì bù ān.
    He's craving a cigarette and can't sit still.
  • 烟瘾。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì tā jǐn kuài jiè diào yān yǐn.
    The doctor advised him to quit his smoking addiction as soon as possible.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

烟yāntobacco
瘾yǐnaddiction

烟 marks what 瘾 is about, a craving for tobacco.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 煙; 烟 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 烟 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (烟) it is 煙; in others it is 菸.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
垔
垔yīn煙yān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

This story is about the traditional form 煙, not the simplified 烟. It pairs 火, fire, with 垔, which gives the sound.

Open 烟 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 癮; 瘾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nè
Sound part声符shēngfú
隱
隱yǐn癮yǐn
Same sound today

The traditional form 癮 uses 疒 to show illness and 隱 for the sound; the simplified 瘾 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 瘾 →
Appears in
Alcohol & TobaccoIllness & Symptoms

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