腌 (yān) - To pickle & to preserve food in salt, brine, or marinade

腌Tone 1

yān ｜ 12 strokes ｜ radical:

信嫣

腌 · yān

To pickle;

to preserve food in salt, brine, or marinade;

to marinate.

To pickleto preserve food in salt, brine, or marinadeto marinate.

Usage highlights

Pickled vegetablesMarinated meatSalted fishPickled eggsPickling jarPickling method

Synonyms

  • 渍— to soak; to pickle
  • 卤— to marinate in soy sauce mixture
  • 腊— to cure; preserved

Antonyms

  • 鲜— fresh (opposite of preserved)
  • 生— raw; uncooked

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • Grandma pickles vegetables every winter (腌菜).
  • This meat needs to be marinated overnight (腌肉).
  • They preserve fish in salt (腌鱼).
  • Pickled eggs are a common snack (腌鸡蛋).

Collocations

  • Pickled vegetables(腌菜)
  • Marinated meat(腌肉)
  • Salted fish(腌鱼)
  • Pickled eggs(腌鸡蛋)
  • Pickling jar(腌缸)
  • Pickling method(腌制法)

Idioms

  • To pickle and store(腌腌藏藏)
  • Salted and dried(腌臜泼才 - archaic insult meaning filthy scoundrel)
  • Pickled and preserved(腌渍保存)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Pickling is an ancient Chinese food preservation technique dating back thousands of years.
  • Different regions in China have distinctive pickling methods and recipes.
  • Pickled foods are common in Chinese cuisine, especially during winter months.
  • The character combines the meat radical (月) with the phonetic component 奄.

FAQ