油 (yóu) is a Chinese character meaning “oil”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 由 (from; by way of; cause), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “oil”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 由
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字「油，水……从水由聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵由，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–7 与「由」逐笔对应（3+5=8画）
Memory aid
Water (氵) on the left, 由 on the right: a liquid that comes out from (由) the ground — oil.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 加油jiā yóuto refuel; to add oil; (cheering) come on! keep going!油 = yóu
- 石油shí yóupetroleum; crude oil油 = yóu
- 揩油kāi yóuto take petty advantage; to skim off gains at others' expense (lit. to wipe off oil)油 = yóu
- 桐油tóng yóutung oil油 = yóu
- 油炸yóu zháto deep-fry (in oil)油 = yóu
- 油脂yóu zhīoils and fats; grease油 = yóu
Go deeper
All readings
oil
oil; fat; grease; petroleum; to apply oil or paint
动植物或矿物产生的脂质液体，如食用油、石油。也指给物体涂上油漆。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 加油jiā yóuto refuel; to add oil; (cheering) come on! keep going!油 = yóu
- 石油shí yóupetroleum; crude oil油 = yóu
- 揩油kāi yóuto take petty advantage; to skim off gains at others' expense (lit. to wipe off oil)油 = yóu
- 桐油tóng yóutung oil油 = yóu
- 油炸yóu zháto deep-fry (in oil)油 = yóu
- 油脂yóu zhīoils and fats; grease油 = yóu
Sound component
由 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 油 mean?
油 (yóu) means oil; fat; grease; petroleum; to apply oil or paint.
How do you pronounce 油?
It is pronounced yóu.
What parts is 油 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 由 (from; by way of; cause), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「油，水……从水由聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰氵由，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「氵」三点，笔画 3–7 与「由」逐笔对应（3+5=8画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 油 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 油?
氵. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 油?
Common ones are 加油 and 石油. The reading of 油 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.