滑
huá
Slippery in Mandarin is 滑 (huá).
The word 滑 is used to describe a surface that is slippery, potentially causing someone to fall. It can also describe a texture as being smooth, depending on the context. For example, the phrase 地滑 (dì huá) is a common way to warn that the ground or floor is slippery.
Meaning: of a surface (adj)
Which one should you use?
While 滑 can mean both slippery (a surface that causes one to fall) and smooth (a texture), the compound 光滑 (guāng huá) is specifically used to mean smooth or glossy in a positive or neutral sense, such as describing smooth skin or a smooth surface.
How does it change in a sentence?
You can use the structure 又滑又… to describe something that possesses both the quality of being slippery and another adjective, such as 又滑又圆 (both slippery and round).
How do you pronounce it?
huá
Did you know?
- The term 滑稽 (huá jī) uses the same 'slippery' root but is used to describe something funny or comical, rather than a physical sensation.
- The character 滑 is used in the term for a 'slide' at a playground, 滑梯 (huá tī), where 梯 normally refers to a ladder.
- In Chinese, describing a person as 滑 can sometimes imply they are 'slippery' in character, meaning they are evasive or untrustworthy.
Examples in context
- 雨天路滑，小心摔跤。The roads are slippery on a rainy day. Be careful not to fall.This sentence uses 滑 to describe roads being slippery during rain.Tatoeba #9987045 by GlossaMatik, translation #11290545 by Aphima
- 小心地滑。Be careful. It's slippery here.This sentence uses 滑 to provide a warning that the floor is slippery.Tatoeba #10635236 by gumblex, translation #10631799 by CK
- 我真的不懂韓國人為什麼那麼愛用鐵筷，夾菜又滑又重，根本不實用。I don't understand why Koreans like iron chopsticks so much. They're so slippery and difficult to pick up food with that they aren't practical at all.This sentence uses 滑 to describe how food is slippery when using certain chopsticks.Tatoeba #13537231 by LeviHighway, translation #13879770 by frpzzd
- 道路上的冰非常滑。The ice on the road is very slippery.
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A person warns their partner about a wet floor in the kitchen.
- 雨婷 Yuting浩然，小心，廚房的地板很滑。Hàorán, xiǎoxīn, chúfáng de dìbǎn hěn huá.Haoran, be careful, the kitchen floor is very slippery.
- 浩然 Haoran謝謝妳提醒，我會小心的。Xièxiè nǐ tíxǐng, wǒ huì xiǎoxīn de.Thanks for the reminder, I will be careful.
- 雨婷 Yuting水濺在地上了。Shuǐ jiàn zài dì shàng le.Water splashed on the floor.
- 浩然 Haoran我現在去把它擦乾。Wǒ xiànzài qù bǎ tā cā gān.I will go wipe it dry now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “slippery” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
