炼

鍊
liàn
#1,761 most
frequent character
to refine
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

火 fire, heat is the meaning part; the part 练 without 纟 supplies the sound. It first meant 'smelt metal,' which grew to 'refine' or 'temper.'

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Example Sentences

我们需要炼钢才能制造更坚固的建筑。
wǒmen xūyào liàngāng cáinéng zhìzào gēng jiāngù de jiànzhù 。
We need to refine steel to create stronger buildings.
他正在炼蜜蜂的蜜。
tā zhèngzài liàn mìfēng de mì 。
He is refining the honey from the bees.
炼油的过程非常复杂。
liàn yóu de guòchéng fēicháng fùzá 。
The process of refining oil is very complex.

Same Characters, Different Readings

炼liàn
to refine

Words with similar meanings

提纯tíchún
to purify
More focused on removing impurities to achieve a pure substance.
精炼jīngliàn
to process
Often used in industrial contexts for processing materials to enhance their quality.

Homophones

练liàn
practice, train
炼liàn
to refine
恋liàn
to feel attached to, to long for

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