汽油
qìyóu/t͡ɕʰi⁵¹ joʊ̯³⁵/
The English phrase "petrol" is translated into Chinese as 汽油 (qìyóu).
汽油 refers to the liquid fuel used to power internal combustion engines in vehicles.
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 汽 (qì), meaning steam or gas and 油 (yóu), meaning oil or liquid fuel.
Which one should you use?
While 汽油 specifically means petrol, you may encounter 石油 (shí yóu) in formal contexts to refer to petroleum or crude oil and 油 (yóu) is often used informally to refer to petrol.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is qìyóu. The IPA is /tɕʰi⁵¹ joʊ̯³⁵/.
Did you know?
- The phrase 加油 (jiāyóu), meaning 'add oil', is used throughout the Chinese speaking world as a cheer to mean 'go for it' or 'keep going'.
- In China, the character 油 (yóu) is so versatile that it refers to petrol, cooking oil and grease depending on the context.
- The character 汽 (qì) in 汽油 is the same character used in 汽车 (qìchē), the general word for 'car' or 'automobile'.
Examples in context
- 越来越多的环保者开始宣传和使用以环保的无铅汽油为燃料的汽车。More and more environmentalists advocate and use environmentally friendly unleaded petrol in cars.This sentence is useful for seeing how 汽油 is used in the context of environmentally friendly unleaded petrol.Tatoeba #736841 by GlossaMatik, translation #736843 by eastasiastudent
- 我需要加满汽油。I need to fill up with petrol.
- 记得在加油站加油。Remember to refuel at the gas station.
- 加油站的汽油很贵。Jiāyóuzhàn de qìyóu hěn guì.The petrol at the gas station is very expensive.
- 这辆车需要加汽油。Zhè liàng chē xūyào jiā qìyóu.This car needs to be refueled with petrol.
Example conversation
A man and a woman are in a car and notice the fuel gauge is low.
- 浩然 Haoran雨婷，车里的汽油快没了。Yǔtíng, chē lǐ de qìyóu kuài méi le.Yuting, the petrol in the car is almost gone.
- 雨婷 Yuting那我们快去找个加油站吧。Nà wǒmen kuài qù zhǎo gè jiāyóuzhàn ba.Then let's quickly find a gas station.
- 浩然 Haoran我看前面不远就有一家。Wǒ kàn qiánmiàn bù yuǎn jiù yǒu yì jiā.I see one not far ahead.
- 雨婷 Yuting好的，那就停在那里吧。Hǎo de, nà jiù tíng zài nàlǐ ba.Okay, let's stop there then.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 汽油, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
