碳 (tàn): carbon (chemistry)
碳 (tàn) is a Chinese character meaning “carbon (chemistry).” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 石 (semantic) and 炭 (phonetic). It ranks #2594 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 碳 mineral. Its radical form 石 (stone) appears in many related characters such as 确 (què, certain, true), 碗 (wǎn, bowl), 碰 (pèng, to touch, to bump).
Definitions
- carbon (chemistry)
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 碳 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 碳
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 二氧化碳noun | èr yǎng huà tàn | carbon dioxide CO2 | 6 |
| 低碳adjective | dī tàn | (attributive) low-carbon | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 一氧化碳noun | yī yǎng huà tàn | carbon monoxide CO |
| 碳酸noun | tàn suān | carbonic acid |
| 碳酸钙noun | tàn suān gài | calcium carbonate |
| 聚碳酸酯noun | jù tàn suān zhǐ | polycarbonate |
| 碳酸钠noun | tàn suān nà | soda |
| 碳化物noun | tàn huà wù | carbide |
| 碳酸盐noun | tàn suān yán | carbonate salt (chemistry) |
| 碳化硅noun | tàn huà guī | silicon carbide |
| 碳水化合物noun | tàn shuǐ huà hé wù | carbohydrate |
| 无定形碳 | wú dìng xíng tàn | amorphous carbon |
| 碳中和noun | tàn zhōng hé | carbon neutrality |
| 碳原子 | tàn yuán zǐ | carbon atom |
| 碳氢化合物noun | tàn qīng huà hé wù | hydrocarbon |
| 二氧化碳隔离 | èr yǎng huà tàn gé lí | carbon sequestration |
| 碳性电池 | tàn xìng diàn chí | carbon-zinc battery |
碳 appears in 58 compound words: 57 as the first character, 28 as the last, and 16 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 碳 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
碳字在日常生活中使用频率较低。
tàn zì zài rì cháng shēng huó zhōng shǐ yòng pín lǜ jiào dī .
The character "carbon" is not frequently used in daily life.
光大证券:碳排放双控转型推动碳成本重估 看好绿电的非...
guāng dà zhèng quàn : tàn pái fàng shuāng kòng zhuǎn xíng tuī dòng tàn chéng běn chóng gū kàn hǎo lǜ diàn de fēi . . .
Everbright Securities: Carbon emission dual control transformation promotes carbon cost revaluation Optimistic about the non-...
日本是碳水大国为何日人吃不胖? 网揭与台湾4大生...
rì běn shì tàn shuǐ dà guó wéi hé rì rén chī bù pàng ? wǎng jiē yǔ tái wān 4 dà shēng . . .
Japan is a big carbohydrate country, why can't Japanese people eat fat? The network revealed that it was with Taiwan's 4 college students...
商周“碳竞争力100强” 信义房屋制度化减碳连三...
shāng zhōu tàn jìng zhēng lì 1 0 0 qiáng xìn yì fáng wū zhì dù huà jiǎn tàn lián sān . . .
Business Week's "Top 100 Carbon Competitiveness" Xinyi Housing Institutionalized Carbon Reduction for the Third Consecutive Time...
低糖食品推荐大全包括什么?每日碳水控制在多少合适
dī táng shí pǐn tuī jiàn dà quán bāo kuò shén má ? měi rì tàn shuǐ kòng zhì zài duō shǎo gě shì
What does the recommended low-sugar food include? How much is the appropriate amount of carbohydrates per day
食物糖份怎么看?营养成分表中“糖”和“碳水”要分开看吗
shí wù táng fèn zěn má kàn ? yíng yǎng chéng fēn biǎo zhōng táng hé tàn shuǐ yāo fēn kāi kàn ma
What do you think about food sugar? Should "sugar" and "carbohydrates" be separated in the nutritional facts table?
树木排出氧气，吸收二氧化碳。
Shùmù páichū yǎngqì, xīshōu èryǎnghuàtàn.
Trees give off oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide.
麦根沙士被视为一种经典的美式碳酸饮品。
Mài gēn shāshì bèi shìwéi yīzhǒng jīngdiǎn de Měishì tànsuān yǐnpǐn.
Root beer is considered a classic American carbonated soft drink.
汤姆告诉我他不喜欢碳酸饮料。
Tāngmǔ gàosu wǒ tā bù xǐhuan tànsuān yǐnliào.
Tom told me he doesn't like carbonated drinks.
你对复合碳水化合物有什么了解吗？
Nǐ duì fùhé tàn shuǐ huàhé wù yǒu shénme liǎojiě ma?
Do you know anything about complex carbohydrates?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 石 (mineral) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 碳 (tàn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 碳 have?
What is the radical of 碳?
What are the components of 碳?
What are common words containing 碳?
What characters sound the same as 碳 (tàn)?
Is 碳 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 碳 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.