Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 熨 | yùn | /yn⁵¹/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /yn²¹³/ (Mandarin, Chengdu, Sinological IPA) |
| 熨燙 / 熨烫 | yùntàng | |
| 燙 / 烫 | tàng | |
| 熨平 | yùnpíng | /yn⁵¹ pʰiŋ³⁵/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /wɐn²² pʰɪŋ²¹/ (Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological IPA, Standard Cantonese, Hong Kong) |
| 燙平 / 烫平 | tàngpíng |
The verb refers to the action of passing an iron over clothing or fabric to remove wrinkles. If you are referring to the chemical element or the metal itself, use the noun 鐵 / 铁. To describe something made of the metal, use the adjective 鐵製的 / 铁制的. For the tool used for this task, the term is 熨斗 (yùn dǒu), which means clothes iron.
Which one should you use?
While 熨 specifically refers to the act of ironing, the word 燙 / 烫 (to press/to scald) is often used colloquially in many regions to mean the same thing when referring to clothing. The form 熨燙 / 熨烫 combines the two concepts.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To emphasize the successful result of making clothing smooth, you can add the character 平 (flat) to the verb, creating the forms 熨平 or 燙平, which both mean to iron flat.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is yùn and the IPA is /yn⁵¹/.
Did you know?
- Historically, the 熨斗 was a metal box filled with hot coals to provide heat, rather than an electric heating element.
- The character 熨 includes the 'clothing' radical 衣 on the left side, visually linking the action to the object being treated.
- The word 燙 is derived from the character for 'hot water' 湯, combined with the radical for 'fire' 火.
Examples in context
- 我被熨斗燙傷了。I was burnt by the iron.This sentence shows how one might be burnt by an object containing 熨.Tatoeba #1205884 by cienias, translation #1211458 by alec
- 我沒法燙我的衣服，我沒有熨斗。I cannot iron my clothes. I have no iron.This sentence uses 熨 to express the inability to iron clothes due to lacking a clothes iron.Tatoeba #6018272 by xjjAstrus, translation #1685762 by Amastan
- 我必須熨我的襯衫。I have to iron my shirt.This sentence demonstrates the use of 熨 for a routine task like ironing a shirt.Tatoeba #777664 by Martha, translation #53084 by CK
- 请问，哪里可以买到铁块？(Qǐng wèn, nǎ lǐ kě yǐ mǎi dào tiě kuài?)Excuse me, where can I buy a piece of iron?
- 请借给我一下熨斗，要熨一下衬衫。(Qǐng jiè gěi wǒ yī xià yùn dǒu, yào yùn yī xià chèn shān.)Could you lend me the clothes iron? I need to iron a shirt.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
At home, Junjie is preparing for a formal event.
- 俊杰 Junjie妳可以幫我熨這件襯衫嗎？Nǐ kěyǐ bāng wǒ yùn zhè jiàn chènshān ma?Can you help me iron this shirt?
- 雨婷 Yuting沒問題，我現在就去熨。Méi wèntí, wǒ xiànzài jiù qù yù.No problem, I will go iron it now.
- 俊杰 Junjie謝謝妳，這件衣服很重要。Xièxiè nǐ, zhè jiàn yīfú hěn zhòngyào.Thank you, this piece of clothing is very important.
- 雨婷 Yuting放心吧，我會熨得很平整。Fàngxīn ba, wǒ huì yù de hěn píngzhěng.Don't worry, I will iron it very smoothly.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “iron” translations and entries 熨, 熨平, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 燙, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
