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    Chinese Grammar

    Expressing 'oil' with 油 (yóu)

    Emphasis
    Existence & Possession

    Structure

    加油

    Explanation

    油 (yóu) is a noun meaning "oil" or "fuel." Beyond its literal meaning, it appears in the common encouraging expression 加油 (jiā yóu), which literally means "add fuel" but is used to mean "keep it up" or "go for it." 加油 is one of the most frequently used expressions of encouragement in Chinese.

    Examples

    • 菜里的油放太多了，有点腻。

      cài lǐ de yóu fàng tài duō le, yǒudiǎn nì.

      There's too much oil in the dish; it's a bit greasy.

    • 车快没油了，我们去加油站吧。

      chē kuài méi yóu le, wǒmen qù jiāyóuzhàn ba.

      The car is almost out of gas; let's go to the gas station.

    • 加油！你一定能考上的！

      jiāyóu! nǐ yīdìng néng kǎoshàng de!

      Come on! You can definitely pass the exam!

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    Expressing 'oil' with 油 (yóu) | Chinese Grammar