加油 (jiā yóu) — to refuel, to add oil; (fig.) to cheer on, to e…

Definition

Literally 'add oil' — used both for refueling a vehicle and (much more commonly in speech) as a cheer like 'come on! / keep it up!'. Unlike 加快, it doesn't describe a process of speeding up; it's a shout of encouragement.

verb

to refuelto add oil(fig.) to cheer onto encourageto make an extra effort

Examples

。
Zuó tiān wǒ gěi chē jiā guò yí cì yóu.
I refueled the car once yesterday.
加油。
Dà jiā zài wèi yùn dòng yuán jiā yóu.
Everyone is cheering for the athletes.
，加油！
Zhè cì kǎo shì nǐ yí dìng néng guò, jiā yóu!
You'll definitely pass this exam — keep it up!

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

加jiāadd

油yóuoil

加 means add, 油 means oil; together they describe refueling or cheering someone on.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

力口加

力力lìstrength
口口kǒumouth

加 pairs 力 and 口. In one explanation 力 is strength and 口 is the mouth, meaning exaggeration; in another 力 is plowing effort and 口 is breath or exclamation, meaning extra effort.

Open 加 →

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

氵由油

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

由

由yóu油yóu

Same sound today

油 is built from 氵, a water part, and 由, which supplies the sound.

Open 油 →

Appears in