釉 (yòu): glaze (of porcelain)

釉 (yòu) is a Chinese character meaning “glaze (of porcelain).” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 釆 (semantic) and 由 (phonetic). It ranks #4416 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 釉 collect. Its radical form 酉 (wine) appears in many related characters such as 酗 (xù, drunk), 酝 (yùn, to brew), 配 (pèi, to join).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. glaze (of porcelain)

Etymology & Origin

釉

pictophoneticcollect

Decomposition: ⿰釆由 (layout: left-right)

Stroke Order

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

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

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
牙釉质yá yòu zhìtooth enamel
青釉qīng yòuceladon, classic Chinese style of ceramic glaze
唇釉chún yòu(cosmetics) liquid lipstick (typically with a glossier, lacquer-like finish compared to Western liquid lipsticks, tho...
瓷釉cí yòuporcelain glaze
4
Total compounds
0
As first character
75
As last character
25
As middle character

釉 appears in 4 compound words: 0 as the first character, 75 as the last, and 25 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

釉字由12笔画组成,结构很巧妙。

yòu zì yóu bǐ huà zǔ chéng , jié gòu hěn qiǎo miào .

The character "釉" consists of 12 strokes and has a very ingenious structure.

中国新闻网·文化Jul 2026

官窑胎土含铁量高,烧成后呈紫黑色,釉面经过多次上釉、素烧复烧,形成温润的乳浊质感。

guān yáo tāi tǔ hán tiě liàng gāo , shāo chéng hòu chéng zǐ hēi sè , yòu miàn jīng guò duō cì shàng yòu , sù shāo fù shāo , xíng chéng wēn rùn de rǔ zhuó zhì gǎn .

The clay used in imperial kilns has a high iron content, which gives it a purplish-black color after firing; the glaze, through multiple applications, bisque firings, and refirings, develops a smooth, milky-opaque texture.

中国新闻网·文化Jul 2026

一件瓷器,从采石、练泥到拉坯、修坯,从绘画、施釉到装窑、烧成,要经过多道工序。

yī jiàn cí qì , cóng cǎi shí , liàn ní dào lā 坯 , xiū 坯 , cóng huì huà , shī yòu dào zhuāng yáo , shāo chéng , yāo jīng guò duō dào gōng xù .

The production of a piece of porcelain involves many steps, from quarrying the clay and preparing the clay slip to throwing and shaping the piece, and from painting and glazing to loading the kiln and firing.

中国新闻网·文化Jul 2026

一旁的电子屏幕上,游客只需轻触,便可查看甜白釉、郎红、青花瓷等代表性器物的烧制细节。

yī páng de diàn zǐ bǐng mù shàng , yóu kè zhī xū qīng chù , biàn kě chá kàn tián bái yòu , láng hóng , qīng huā cí děng dài biǎo xìng qì wù de shāo zhì xì jié .

On the electronic screen nearby, visitors can view details about the firing process of representative artifacts—such as sweet-white glaze, Lang red, and blue-and-white porcelain—with just a light touch.

IT之家Jul 2026

本作以模拟制瓷玩法为主,拥有选泥、制坯、装饰到上釉、高温烧制、釉上彩绘等流程。

běn zuò yǐ mó nǐ zhì cí wán fǎ wéi zhǔ , yōng yǒu xuǎn ní , zhì 坯 , zhuāng shì dào shàng yòu , gāo wēn shāo zhì , yòu shàng cǎi huì děng liú chéng .

This game focuses on simulating the porcelain-making process, covering steps such as selecting clay, shaping the body, decorating, glazing, high-temperature firing, and overglaze painting.

EttodayMar 2026

釉彩界的当代传奇!釉彩大师范振金史博馆特展...

yòu cǎi jiè de dāng dài chuán qí ! yòu cǎi dà shī fàn zhèn jīn shǐ bó guǎn tè zhǎn . . .

A Contemporary Legend in the World of Glazed Ceramics! Special Exhibition at the Fan Zhenjin Museum of History...

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 釆 (collect) component

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 釉 (yòu) mean in Chinese?
釉 (yòu) primarily means "glaze (of porcelain)." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #4416 in character frequency.
What's the difference between 釉 and 抽?
釉 (yòu) and 抽 (chōu) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 酉 vs 扌 (same 由 component).
How many strokes does 釉 have?
釉 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 釉?
The radical associated with 釉 is 酉 (wine). This radical appears in many characters related to wine.
What are the components of 釉?
釉 is composed of: 釆 (semantic), 由 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰釆由 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 釉?
Common words with 釉 include: 牙釉质 (yá yòu zhì, "tooth enamel"); 青釉 (qīng yòu, "celadon, classic Chinese style of ceramic glaze"); 唇釉 (chún yòu, "(cosmetics) liquid lipstick (typically with a glossier, lacquer-like finish compared to Western liquid lipsticks, tho..."); 瓷釉 (cí yòu, "porcelain glaze"). There are over 4 compound words containing this character.
Is 釉 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 釉 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 釉 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.