汽
油

About

The word 汽油 (qìyóu), meaning "gasoline", is formed by combining two existing characters based on their core conceptual meanings: 汽 (qì), which denotes "vapor" or "steam", and 油 (yóu), which means "oil". The formation directly describes the substance's essential property as an oil that readily volatilizes into vapor, making it suitable for use as fuel in internal combustion engines. It is a logical, descriptive compound where the combined ideas create a new, specific term for a modern invention.

Example Sentences Hide

今天的汽油很贵。

Jīntiān de qìyóu hěn guì.

Today's gasoline is very expensive.

我需要给汽车加汽油。

Wǒ xūyào gěi qìchē jiā qìyóu.

I need to refuel the car with gasoline.

因为汽油不足，所以车不能开。

Yīnwèi qìyóu bùzú, suǒyǐ chē bù néng kāi.

Because there is not enough gasoline, the car cannot drive.

现代汽车通常使用无铅汽油。

Xiàndài qìchē tōngcháng shǐyòng wúqiān qìyóu.

Modern cars usually use unleaded gasoline.

为了减少污染，政府鼓励使用电动汽车代替汽油车。

Wèile jiǎnshǎo wūrǎn, zhèngfǔ gǔlì shǐyòng diàndòng qìchē dàitì qìyóu chē.

In order to reduce pollution, the government encourages using electric cars instead of gasoline cars.

Word Definition - 汽油

qì yóu gasoline

Individual Character Details

汽 qì
油 yóu