氧

• Pinyin: yǎng
• Hanzi breakdown: 氧 = 气 (gas/air radical — signifying a gaseous element) + 羊 (phonetic component — providing the sound yang)

Meaning

Oxygen (O). The chemical element essential for aerobic respiration and combustion, making up approximately 21% of the Earth's atmosphere.

Key compounds: 氧气 (oxygen gas), 氧化 (oxidation), 氧化物 (oxide), 供氧 (oxygen supply), 缺氧 (oxygen deficiency/hypoxia), 液氧 (liquid oxygen). Central to chemistry, medicine, and environmental science. Also used colloquially: 高含氧量 (high oxygen content) in contexts praising fresh air or forests.

Examples

1. 高海拔地区空气稀薄，氧气含量明显低于平原地区，初到高原的人容易出现头痛、气短等高原反应症状。 At high altitudes the air is thin and oxygen levels are noticeably lower than on the plains, so people newly arriving on the plateau can easily develop altitude sickness symptoms like headaches and shortness of breath.
2. 燃烧反应的本质是可燃物与氧发生剧烈的氧化反应，并在此过程中释放出大量热能和光能。 The essence of combustion is a violent oxidation reaction between a fuel and oxygen, releasing a large amount of heat and light in the process.
3. 患者送入急救室后，医护人员立即为其佩戴面罩进行吸氧治疗，同时密切监测其血氧饱和度的变化情况。 After the patient was brought into the ER, medical staff immediately put an oxygen mask on them and closely monitored changes in blood oxygen saturation.

Usage Guide

Context: science, medicine, chemistry, environment

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 人体在正常生理活动中每时每刻都需要消耗一定量的氧，大脑对缺氧尤为敏感，短短几分钟的严重缺氧便可导致不可逆的神经损伤。(The human body consumes a certain amount of oxygen at every moment of normal physiological activity; the brain is particularly sensitive to oxygen deprivation — even a few minutes of severe hypoxia can cause irreversible neurological damage.)
• 植物通过光合作用吸收二氧化碳并释放氧气，从而在调节大气中气体成分、维持地球生命所需的氧浓度方面发挥着至关重要的作用。(Plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen through photosynthesis, thereby playing a crucial role in regulating the composition of atmospheric gases and maintaining the oxygen concentration necessary for life on Earth.)

Don't Say

• 呼吸氧 — the standard expression is 吸氧 (inhale/absorb oxygen) or 呼吸氧气; just 呼吸氧 omits the required noun suffix 气 and sounds incomplete in Standard Chinese

Origin & History

氧 = 气 (gas/vapour — 米 rice + 气 breath, depicting steam) + 羊 (sheep/phonetic — originally used for the acid oxygen was first associated with)

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal