埃 (āi) - dust & fine particles

埃Tone 1

āi ｜ 10 strokes ｜ radical:

安

埃 · āi

dust;

fine particles;

a unit of length equal to one ten-billionth of a meter (angstrom);

used in transliterations.

dustfine particlesa unit of length equal to one ten-billionth

Usage highlights

dust particleEgyptangstromdust stormfine dustEgyptian

Synonyms

  • 尘— dust, dirt
  • 灰— ash, dust

Antonyms

  • 净— clean, pure
  • 洁— clean, pure

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The furniture was covered in dust (尘埃).
  • An angstrom is a very small unit of length (埃).
  • Egypt is transliterated as 埃及 (Āijí).
  • The physicist studied angstrom-scale phenomena (埃尺度现象).

Collocations

  • dust particle(尘埃)
  • Egypt(埃及)
  • angstrom(埃)
  • dust storm(尘埃风暴)
  • fine dust(微埃)
  • Egyptian(埃及人)

Idioms

  • Towering to the skies(埃天耸立)
  • Covered with a layer of dust(埃尘满面)
  • Egyptian pyramids(埃及金字塔)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Originally meant fine dust or particles in classical Chinese.
  • Used as a transliteration character for foreign words, most notably Egypt (埃及).
  • Adopted as a scientific unit for the angstrom (10⁻¹⁰ meters) in physics and chemistry.

FAQ