dry; arid; dull
HSK level
干燥 (gānzào) is an adjective meaning 'dry' or 'arid' — describing a lack of moisture in the air, climate, skin, or materials.
It is the word for environmental or physical dryness: 天气干燥 'the weather is dry,' 皮肤干燥 'dry skin,' 干燥的木头 'dry wood.' It can also mean 'dull / dry / boring' when applied to writing or speech (干燥的报告 'a dry report'). Two differences from English and from plain 干 (gān).
First, 干燥 is the two-syllable descriptive word for a dry state or condition, more formal and complete than bare 干; you say 空气很干燥 (air is dry) but 衣服干了 (clothes have dried) using 干 for the result. Second, unlike English 'dry,' which also means 'not sweet' (dry wine) or 'thirsty,' 干燥 sticks to the moisture and the 'dull' senses. Register is neutral, common in weather, skincare, and descriptive writing.
Character by character
Memory hook: 干 (dry) + 燥 (parched, with a fire radical) = thoroughly dry, arid.
北方的冬天很干燥。
Běifāng de dōngtiān hěn gānzào.
Winters in the north are very dry.
neutral
天气太干燥，我的皮肤很难受。
Tiānqì tài gānzào, wǒ de pífū hěn nánshòu.
The weather is too dry, my skin feels awful.
spoken
请把东西放在干燥的地方。
Qǐng bǎ dōngxi fàng zài gānzào de dìfāng.
Please put the things in a dry place.
neutral
这篇文章写得很干燥，没意思。
Zhè piān wénzhāng xiě de hěn gānzào, méi yìsi.
This article is written in a dull, dry way — boring.
spoken
干燥 is written with 20 strokes (干: 3, 燥: 17). Tap replay to watch each character drawn again.
Acquire it by listening
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