粉

• Pinyin: fěn
• Hanzi breakdown: 粉 = 米 + 分 (rice radical + to divide — fine particles obtained by grinding grain)

Meaning

Powder; flour; starch noodles. A fine granular substance produced by grinding, or thin noodles made from rice or starch.

In culinary contexts, 粉 refers to flour, starch, or noodle products such as 米粉 (rice noodles) and 粉条 (glass noodles). Also describes cosmetic powder. Can function as a verb meaning to coat or apply powder. Always specify the type in context: 面粉 (wheat flour), 淀粉 (starch), 米粉 (rice flour/noodles).

Examples

1. 她将干辣椒放入研钵中仔细研磨，直到磨成均匀细腻的辣椒粉，散发出浓烈的香气。 She put dried chilies into a mortar and ground them carefully until they became an even, fine chili powder with a strong aroma.
2. 这家老字号粉店的招牌米粉以筋道爽滑著称，一碗加了猪骨汤底的热粉在清晨就能让排队的食客感到心满意足。 This long-established rice-noodle shop is famous for its signature rice noodles, known for being springy and smooth; a hot bowl with pork-bone broth can leave the morning line of diners feeling truly satisfied.
3. 化妆师先为演员扑上一层定妆粉，确保在长时间拍摄过程中妆容不会因出汗或灯光热量而脱落。 The makeup artist first dusted a layer of setting powder onto the actor to make sure the makeup wouldn’t break down during long shoots from sweating or the heat of the lights.

Usage Guide

Context: food, beauty, cooking

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 食谱中要求将杏仁烤香后研磨成细粉，再与面粉混合使用，这样做出的饼干口感更为酥脆且具有独特的坚果香气。(The recipe calls for toasting the almonds until fragrant, then grinding them into a fine powder to be mixed with flour; biscuits made this way have a crispier texture and a distinctive nutty aroma.)
• 传统工艺中，石磨缓慢碾压谷物的方式比机器碾磨能更好地保留粮食中的营养成分，磨出的粉在口感和营养价值上均有所不同。(In traditional craft, the slow grinding of grains by a stone mill better preserves nutritional content compared to machine milling; the powder produced differs in both texture and nutritional value.)

Don't Say

• 用粉 without specifying the type — always clarify: 面粉 (wheat flour), 淀粉 (starch), 米粉 (rice flour/noodles), as 粉 alone is too vague in culinary instructions

Origin & History

粉 = 米 + 分 (rice + divide/separate — finely divided rice; the result of grinding grains into fine particles)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal