烘干

• Pinyin: hōng gān
• Hanzi breakdown: 烘 = 火 (fire) + 共 (together/phonetic) — fire warming something; 干 = pictograph of a forked stick — dry, to dry

Meaning

To dry using heat; to tumble-dry; to kiln-dry or oven-dry. The process of removing moisture from an object or material by applying heat.

烘干 covers a range of heat-drying processes: tumble-drying clothes (烘干机 — tumble dryer), drying food in an oven or dehydrator (食品烘干), kiln-drying timber (木材烘干), and industrial drying processes. 烘干机 is now a standard household appliance term. The term contrasts with 晾干 (air-drying/line-drying), 吹干 (blow-drying), and 晒干 (sun-drying).

Examples

1. 洗完的厚重羽绒服应当放入烘干机低温烘干，切不可在烈日下暴晒，以免破坏填充材料的保暖性能。 After washing, a heavy down jacket should be tumble-dried on low heat; never leave it baking in direct sun, or you may damage the insulation’s warmth.
2. 工厂引进了一套先进的自动化烘干设备，将陶瓷制品的生产周期由原来的七十二小时缩短至不足二十四小时。 The factory introduced an advanced automated drying system, cutting the production cycle for ceramic products from seventy-two hours to less than twenty-four.
3. 为了在短时间内给孩子一套干净衣物，她把刚洗完的校服直接放进烘干机，十五分钟后便取出穿上了。 To get her child a clean outfit quickly, she put the freshly washed school uniform straight into the dryer and took it out to wear fifteen minutes later.

Usage Guide

Context: household, industry, food processing, manufacturing

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 北方冬季室内空气干燥，洗完的衣物晾挂一夜便能自然干透，不一定需要额外使用烘干机进行烘干。(In northern China, indoor air is dry in winter — washed clothes can dry naturally overnight when hung up, so it's not always necessary to use a tumble dryer.)
• 这批经过专业烘干处理的木材含水率已降至国家标准以下，完全满足高端家具制作对原材料的严格品质要求。(The moisture content of this batch of professionally kiln-dried timber has been reduced below the national standard, fully meeting the strict quality requirements for raw materials in premium furniture manufacturing.)

Don't Say

• 烘干 confused with 晒干 or 风干 — 烘干 specifically requires applied heat; 晒干 means sun-drying, 风干 means air-drying, and 吹干 means blow-drying; use the specific term for each method

Origin & History

烘 (to warm over fire; to bake; to roast gently) + 干 (dry; to dry out)

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal