TongTong
Sign in

炊烟 (chuī yān) — smoke from kitchen chimneys; cooking smoke (often with a poetic or nostalgic tone)

Definition

炊烟 is the cooking smoke rising from a chimney, typically in a rural or nostalgic scene. Don't confuse it with 烟囱, which is the chimney structure itself.

noun
smoke from kitchen chimneyscooking smoke (often with a poetic or nostalgic tone)
Measure word · 缕

Examples

  • ，袅袅炊烟，。
    Měi dào bàng wǎn, cūn zi lǐ biàn shēng qǐ niǎo niǎo chuī yān, ràng rén gǎn dào ān níng.
    Every evening, wisps of cooking smoke rise from the village, making one feel peaceful.
  • 炊烟，。
    Tā huí yì qǐ tóng nián shí jiā lǐ chuī yān shēng qǐ de qíng jǐng, xīn lǐ chōng mǎn le wēn nuǎn.
    He recalls the scene of cooking smoke rising from his childhood home, his heart full of warmth.
  • 炊烟，。
    Zài yuǎn fāng kàn dào chuī yān, jiù zhī dào lí jiā bù yuǎn le.
    Seeing cooking smoke in the distance, one knows home is not far.

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.

炊chuīcooking
烟yānsmoke

炊 indicates cooking, and 烟 is the smoke from that cooking, giving kitchen smoke.

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
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
吹
吹chuī炊chuī
Same sound today

炊 puts 火 (fire) next to 吹, which supplies the sound; the fire part points to cooking.

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.