鹽

简 盐 · 繁 鹽
Mandarin · pinyin yán

Meanings

  1. salt
  2. Classifier: 粒 lì
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Characters in this entry

鹽
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盐
yán · salt
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2 · yan2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

鹽 · find source passages ↗ · 盐 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 11 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jim4

Cantonese word readings for 鹽. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character

  1. salt; salty substance, especially table salt
  2. (chemistry) salt
  3. (Southern Min) food product pickled with salt
  4. (Southern Min) sweat stain; salt efflorescence
  5. (cryptography) salt

character

  1. (Classical, Min or Wu) to salt; to lay in brine; to pickle; to marinate
  2. (Eastern Min) to devote oneself to; to invest
  3. (Hokkien, of a wound) irritated; painful (from salt or medication)
  4. (Ningbonese, of one's body) to be drenched in sweat
  5. (Ningbonese) to apply soap to; to dab or cover with soap
  6. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 豔 /艳 (yàn, “to envy”)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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