熏

• Pinyin: xūn
• Hanzi breakdown: 熏 = 黑 + 火 (black + fire — the blackening effect of smoke from fire)

Meaning

To smoke; to fumigate; to cure with smoke. To expose to smoke for flavouring, preservation, or purification; also to be gradually influenced by one's environment.

Has both literal and figurative uses. Literally: smoking food such as 熏鱼 or 熏肉, fumigating with incense, or smoking out pests. Figuratively: the gradual influence of one's environment on character. Also used to describe an overwhelming or stifling smell.

Examples

1. 云南的熏肉制作工艺历史悠久，选用上等猪肉经过腌制后以松木烟火慢慢熏制，香味浓郁，别具风味。 Yunnan smoked pork has a long history: it’s made with premium pork that’s cured and then slowly smoked over pinewood, producing a rich aroma and distinctive flavor.
2. 节日前夕，村民们在院中点燃艾草熏屋，据说能驱虫辟邪，这一习俗在当地农村地区延续至今。 On the eve of festivals, villagers burn mugwort in their courtyards to smoke out their homes; it’s said to repel insects and ward off evil, and this custom still continues in local rural areas today.
3. 厨房里的油烟熏得他眼睛酸涩流泪，他连忙打开窗户通风，将抽油烟机的功率调至最大。 The kitchen fumes made his eyes sting and tear up, so he quickly opened the windows for ventilation and turned the range hood up to the highest setting.

Usage Guide

Context: cooking, food preservation, traditional customs, daily life

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这家百年老店坚持用传统的荔枝木慢火熏制鸭肉，整个过程历时八小时以上，成品色泽红亮、皮脆肉嫩，香飘十里。(This century-old shop insists on slow-smoking the duck with traditional lychee wood; the entire process takes more than eight hours, yielding a product with a bright red colour, crispy skin, tender meat, and a fragrance that carries for miles.)
• 屋内的香烛气味将他熏得头晕脑胀，他不得不暂时退出大殿，在院外呼吸几口新鲜空气后才缓过神来。(The smell of incense and candles inside the hall made him dizzy and light-headed; he had to temporarily withdraw from the main hall and breathe some fresh air outside the courtyard before he recovered.)

Don't Say

• 他的话熏到了我 — for being moved or affected by someone's words use 感动 or 影响; 熏 used for emotional impact sounds awkward and is not idiomatic in standard Mandarin for this meaning

Origin & History

Ancient pictograph depicting smoke rising from a fire — originally meant the smell of smoke rising; extended to the act of smoking or fumigating

Cultural Context

Era: Traditional/Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal