yān
smoke; tobacco; be irritated by smoke
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吸烟有害健康。
xī yān yǒu hài jiànkāng.
Smoking is harmful to health.
这里禁止吸烟。
zhèlǐ jìnzhǐ xī yān.
Smoking is prohibited here.
我喜欢抽烟。
wǒ xǐhuān chōu yān.
I like smoking.
香烟 (xiāng yān)
cigarette
烟雾 (yān wù)
smoke
火 (huǒ)
fire
水 (shuǐ)
water
The Chinese character 烟 (yān) for "smoke" is composed of two parts: 火 (huǒ) for "fire" and 彡 (shān) for "hair". The character 烟 originally meant "smoke from a fire", and it was later extended to mean "smoke" in general. The character 烟 is also used in the names of many plants that produce smoke, such as tobacco (烟草) and opium (鸦片).The character 烟 is first attested in the oracle bone script of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). In the oracle bone script, the character 烟 is depicted as a fire with smoke rising from it. The character 烟 is also found in the bronze script of the Western Zhou dynasty (c. 1046-771 BC). In the bronze script, the character 烟 is more stylized than in the oracle bone script, but it still retains the basic form of a fire with smoke rising from it.The character 烟 is one of the most common characters in the Chinese language. It is used in a wide variety of words and phrases, including:* 烟雾 (yānwù) - smoke* 烟囱 (yānchōng) - chimney* 烟花 (yānhuā) - fireworks* 烟草 (yāncǎo) - tobacco* 鸦片 (yāpiàn) - opium
