指甲油
zhǐjiǎyóu
The Chinese phrase for nail polish is 指甲油 (zhǐjiǎyóu).
指甲油 is the standard term used to refer to cosmetic nail lacquer.
Meaning: cosmetic lacquer (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 指甲 (zhǐjiǎ, fingernail) and 油 (yóu, oil/liquid).
How do you pronounce it?
zhǐjiǎyóu
Did you know?
- If you want to remove 指甲油, you use 洗甲水 (xǐjiǎshuǐ), which literally translates to 'nail washing water'.
- The word for nail, 指甲 (zhǐjiǎ), is a combination of 'finger' (zhǐ) and 'shell/armor' (jiǎ). This reflects the historical perception of nails as protective plates.
- In traditional Chinese medicine, the appearance of 指甲 (nails) is used as a diagnostic tool to determine a person's internal health.
Examples in context
- 我要买点美甲胶。I need to buy some nail polish.
- 我想买一瓶指甲油。Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yì píng zhǐjiǎyóu.I want to buy a bottle of nail polish.
- 这个指甲油的颜色很漂亮。Zhège zhǐjiǎyóu de yánsè hěn piàoliang.The color of this nail polish is very beautiful.
- 你的指甲油掉色了。Nǐ de zhǐjiǎyóu diàosè le.Your nail polish is fading.
Example conversation
A woman is choosing a color at a cosmetics store while her friend waits.
- 雨婷 Yuting浩然，你看这个红色的指甲油好看吗？Hàorán, nǐ kàn zhège hóngsè de zhǐjiǎyóu hǎokàn ma?Haoran, do you think this red nail polish looks good?
- 浩然 Haoran我觉得那个粉色的更适合你。Wǒ juéde nàge fěnsè de gèng shìhé nǐ.I think that pink one suits you better.
- 雨婷 Yuting好，那我就买这瓶粉色的指甲油。Hǎo, nà wǒ jiù mǎi zhè píng fěnsè de zhǐjiǎyóu.Okay, then I will buy this bottle of pink nail polish.
- 浩然 Haoran好的，雨婷。Hǎo de, Yǔtíng.Alright, Yuting.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “nail polish” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
