Sentence #775393 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted
褐煤是一种化石燃料。
Hèméi shì yì zhǒng huàshí ránliào.
Lignite (brown coal) is a fossil fuel.
Sentence #2028045 from Tatoeba · translation adapted
How 化石 is built
Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
化huàto make into
亻person form of 人 · rén
匕spoon · bǐ
Memory aidA person 亻 next to a person turned upside down 匕: to change, to transform.
石shírock
厂cliff · hǎn
口mouth · kǒu
How to write 化石
化 4 strokes · 石 5 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 化石 (huàshí). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
Say it huàshí: huà with a 4th tone, then shí with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 化石 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type huashi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 化石 from the suggestions. Typing huashi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
化石 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.