炼

煉/鍊

liàn

火 + 𫠣

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

liàn (verb) to refine; to smelt

liàn (noun) chain

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 火 represents the meaning and 柬 represents the sound. Simplified form of 煉.

Semantic: 火 Phonetic: 柬

About

炼 (liàn) is a phono-semantic compound combining the fire radical 火 (huǒ) on the left, which signals heat, burning, and high-temperature metallurgical processes, with a phonetic component. In the traditional character 煉, the phonetic is 柬 (jiǎn) on the right; the simplified 炼 replaces it with 东 (dōng) on the right to hint at the pronunciation. The character originally denotes smelting metals, refining substances, or extracting pure materials from ores through intense heat, often in industrial or alchemical contexts. Metaphorically, it describes tempering one's character, polishing written language for better literary effect, or withstanding severe physical and mental training.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我经常锻炼身体。

Wǒ jīngcháng duànliàn shēntǐ.

I often exercise.

炼钢需要高温。

Liàngāng xūyào gāowēn.

Steel smelting requires high temperature.

她提炼了精油。

Tā tíliànle jīngyóu.

She extracted essential oil.

修炼内功很重要。

Xiūliàn nèigōng hěn zhòngyào.

Cultivating internal energy is very important.

炼油厂生产汽油。

Liànyóuchǎng shēngchǎn qìyóu.

The oil refinery produces gasoline.

通过锻炼，他变得更强壮。

Tōngguò duànliàn, tā biàn de gèng qiángzhuàng.

Through exercise, he became stronger.

科学家在实验室提炼新元素。

Kēxuéjiā zài shíyànshì tíliàn xīn yuánsù.

Scientists extract new elements in the laboratory.

这种金属需要多次冶炼才能纯净。

Zhè zhǒng jīnshǔ xūyào duō cì yěliàn cái néng chúnjìng.

This metal requires multiple smeltings to become pure.

Related Characters

Component: 火

Component: 𫠣

炼