蒸汽
zhēngqì/ʈ͡ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/
In Chinese, steam is referred to as 蒸汽 (zhēngqì).
Meaning: water vapor (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 蒸汽 | zhēngqì | /ʈ͡ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /ʈ͡ʂəŋ²⁴ t͡ɕʰi²⁴/ (Mandarin, Dungan, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 蒸汽 | cheng-khì | /t͡siɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² kʰi²¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Sinological IPA, Xiamen) /t͡siɪŋ³³ kʰi⁴¹/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Sinological IPA, Quanzhou) |
Hokkien |
| 水蒸氣 / 水蒸气 | chúi-cheng-khì | Hokkien |
The term is used to describe water vapor. In a culinary context, the related verb 清蒸 is used to mean cooking food with steam, often implying a light or pure preparation method.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Dungan, steam is җынчи. In Hokkien, you can use 蒸汽 or 水蒸氣 / 水蒸气.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization for 蒸汽 is cheng-khì. The IPA is /ʈʂɤŋ⁵⁵ tɕʰi⁵¹/.
Did you know?
- While 蒸汽 is the scientific word for 'steam', Chinese speakers use the word 汽 as a prefix for many modern inventions, such as 汽车 for 'car', which literally means 'steam vehicle'.
- Dungan is a variety of Chinese spoken in Central Asia that uses the Cyrillic alphabet, which is why 'steam' is written as җынчи instead of using Chinese characters.
- The word 蒸汽 was heavily influenced by Japanese translations of Western scientific terms during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Examples in context
- 水沸腾后变为蒸汽。Water turns into steam when it is boiled.This sentence shows how water turns into 蒸汽 when boiled.Tatoeba #333212 by fucongcong, translation #270835 by CM
- 机械力代替人力, 这是蒸汽机发明的结果。The result of the invention of the steam engine was that human power was replaced by mechanical power.This sentence uses 蒸汽 in the context of a steam engine.Tatoeba #1577200 by eastasiastudent, translation #1577213 by eastasiastudent
- 我要把包子蒸一蒸。I want to steam the steamed buns a bit.
- 蒸笼中冒出了阵阵热蒸汽。Waves of hot steam rise from the steamer.
- 火车驶过，蒸汽缭绕在空中。As the train passes by, steam lingers in the air.
- 锅里冒出了滚滚的蒸汽。guō lǐ mào chū le gǔn gǔn de zhēng qì.Steam is rising from the pot.
Example conversation
Zhiqiang and Jiayi are in the kitchen.
- 志强 Zhiqiang小心，这里有很多蒸汽。xiǎo xīn, zhè lǐ yǒu hěn duō zhēng qìBe careful, there is a lot of steam here.
- 佳怡 Jiayi谢谢你，志强。xiè xiè nǐ, zhì qiángThank you, Zhiqiang.
- 志强 Zhiqiang锅里的水开了。guō lǐ de shuǐ kāi leThe water in the pot has boiled.
- 佳怡 Jiayi我现在就把它关掉。wǒ xiàn zài jiù bǎ tā guān diàoI will turn it off right now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “steam” translations and entries 蒸汽, 蒸汽, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
