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Chinese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "dust" in Chinese?
尘埃
chén āi
In Chinese, "dust" is 尘埃 (chén āi).
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Pronunciation
It's pronounced "chén āi", where "chén" is rising sharply like a question (tone 2), then "āi" is flat and level, held steady (tone 1).
Writing and usage
尘埃 is written using hanzi. It's a noun, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.
Example sentence
架子上覆盖着一层灰尘。
jià zi shàng fù gài zhe yī céng huī chén 。
A layer of dust covered the shelf.
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How to remember 尘埃
Link the sound of "chén āi" to something in English that it faintly echoes, then picture that image next to "尘埃" (chén āi).
Related words
Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.
Questions about 尘埃
How do you pronounce 尘埃?
It's pronounced "chén āi", where "chén" is rising sharply like a question (tone 2), then "āi" is flat and level, held steady (tone 1).
Is 尘埃 formal or casual?
尘埃 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.
How is 尘埃 used in Chinese?
尘埃 is used the same way as the equivalent English noun. For example: 架子上覆盖着一层灰尘。 (A layer of dust covered the shelf.).
Where can I practice Chinese words for free?
You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Dust" in other languages
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