油污 (yóuwū): greasy dirt

Meanings

1 greasy dirt
2 oil stain
3 oil sludge (from a spill)

Characters

油

Examples

厨房的油污很难清理。

Chúfáng de yóuwū hěn nán qīnglǐ.

The greasy dirt in the kitchen is hard to clean.

海面上漂着大片油污。

Hǎimiàn shàng piāo zhe dà piàn yóuwū.

Large patches of oil sludge are floating on the sea.

Tips

usage

油污 covers two registers: domestic (kitchen grime, oily fingerprints on a wall) and environmental (oil spill, industrial sludge). For cleaning products you'll see 去油污 (qùyóuwū, 'degreasing'); for environmental contexts pair with 海洋 (ocean) or 泄漏 (leakage).