腌 (yān): used in 腌臢|腌臜, to salt, to pickle

腌 (yān) is a Chinese character meaning “used in 腌臢|腌臜.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺼ (structural) and 奄 (structural). It ranks #3063 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 腌 meat ⺼ left 奄 in salt; 奄 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 肉 (meat) appears in many related characters such as 能 (néng, can), 肩 (jiān, shoulder), 胸 (xiōng, chest).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. used in 腌臢|腌臜
  2. to salt
  3. to pickle

Etymology & Origin

腌

ideographicMeat ⺼ left 奄 in salt; 奄 also provides the pronunciation

Decomposition: ⿰⺼奄 (layout: left-right)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Practice writing 腌 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
腌制verbyān zhìmarinated
腌货yān huòpickles
腌黄瓜nounyān huáng guāpickle
腌肉yān ròusalt pork
腌泡yān pàoto marinade
腌渍yān zìto pickle
腌臜ā zādirty
腌汁yān zhīmarinade (sauce)
8
Total compounds
100
As first character
0
As last character
0
As middle character

腌 appears in 8 compound words: 100 as the first character, 0 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Example Sentences

中国新闻网·文化Sep 2026

年长顾客对腌笃鲜、鲜肉等老味道情有独钟。

nián cháng gù kè duì yān dǔ xiān , xiān ròu děng lǎo wèi dào qíng yǒu dú zhōng .

Older customers have a particular fondness for traditional flavors such as pickled pork and fresh pork.

爱范儿Aug 2026

我们在腌臜的现实泥潭中,畅想着美好的未来。

wǒ men zài yān 臜 de xiàn shí ní tán zhōng , chàng xiǎng zhe měi hǎo de wèi lái .

Stuck in the mire of a sordid reality, we dream of a bright future.

中国新闻网·生活Aug 2026

鸡现杀现烤,不加任何添加剂也不需要提前腌制,吃的就是原汁原味。

jī xiàn shā xiàn kǎo , bù jiā rèn hé tiān jiā jì yě bù xū yào tí qián yān zhì , chī de jiù shì yuán zhī yuán wèi .

The chickens are slaughtered and roasted fresh on the spot, with no additives and no need for marinating in advance—it’s all about enjoying the authentic, natural flavor.

中国新闻网·生活Jul 2026

寄生虫潜伏期可达几十年!夏天爱吃生腌海鲜的要注意了

jì shēng chóng qián fú qī kě dá jǐ shí nián ! xià tiān ài chī shēng yān hǎi xiān de yào zhù yì le

Parasites can remain dormant for decades! Those who love to eat raw or marinated seafood in the summer should be careful.

中国新闻网·生活Jul 2026

排骨腌制讲究时间与分寸。

pái gǔ yān zhì jiǎng jiū shí jiān yǔ fēn cùn .

Marinating pork ribs requires careful attention to timing and proportion.

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 腌 (yān) mean in Chinese?
腌 (yān) primarily means "used in 腌臢|腌臜." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #3063 in character frequency.
How many strokes does 腌 have?
腌 is written with 12 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 腌?
The radical associated with 腌 is 肉 (meat). This radical appears in many characters related to meat.
What are the components of 腌?
腌 is composed of: ⺼ (structural), 奄 (structural). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰⺼奄 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 腌?
Common words with 腌 include: 腌制 (yān zhì, "marinated"); 腌货 (yān huò, "pickles"); 腌黄瓜 (yān huáng guā, "pickle"); 腌肉 (yān ròu, "salt pork"); 腌泡 (yān pào, "to marinade"). There are over 8 compound words containing this character.
Is 腌 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 腌 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 腌 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.