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油腻 (yóu nì) — (adjective) greasy; oily; (of food) fatty; (noun) greasy food; (adjective, slang) obnoxious, pretentious, vulgar (especially of a middle-aged man)

Definition

油腻 literally means 'greasy/oily' (food, skin, hair). In slang c. 2017 it describes a '油腻' middle-aged man — smug, self-satisfied, pretentious — distinct from 庸俗 (broadly tacky/vulgar) or 俗 (coarse).

adjective
greasyoily(of food) fatty(adjective, slang) obnoxiouspretentiousvulgar (especially of a middle-aged man)
noun
greasy food

Examples

  • 油腻，。
    Zhè dào cài tài yóu nì le, wǒ chī bú xià.
    This dish is too greasy; I can't eat it.
  • 油腻。
    Tā xiàn zài biàn chéng le yí gè yóu nì de zhōng nián nán rén.
    He's turned into an obnoxious middle-aged man.
  • 油腻，。
    Wǒ bù xǐ huan chī yóu nì, tài shāng wèi le.
    I don't like eating greasy food; it's too hard on the stomach.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

油yóuoil; fat
腻nìgreasy; cloying

油 suggests oil or fat, and 腻 suggests greasiness; together they describe food that is oily, or a person who feels slick and unpleasant.

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.

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 →

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 膩; 腻 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
貳
貳èr膩nì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 膩 pairs 肉, meat, with 貳 to indicate the pronunciation; the simplified 腻 is a later shorthand.

Open 腻 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Flavors & SeasoningsPersonality & Traits

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