<p>Knowledge concepts are acquired through both sensory and language-based experiences. Among these, olfactory abstraction is particularly challenging and often neglected in conceptual research. Mandarin Chinese, spoken by hundreds of millions, has a rich olfactory lexicon. This study explored olfactory abstract concepts from a cross-cultural perspective. We recruited 44 Han and 32 Uyghur participants to complete three experiments: a verbal fluency test, an olfactory term categorization task, and an odor description and categorization task. Mann–Whitney U and Chi-square tests compared olfactory concepts and odor description strategies between groups. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) and cluster analysis were used to explore the organizational structure of olfactory abstract concepts. Spearman’s correlation analysis assessed the relation between semantic and perceptual spaces. Results revealed both similarities and differences. In the verbal fluency test, Han participants produced more odor-related words and olfactory terms, whereas in the odor description task, Uyghurs more often used abstract descriptions for specific odors. Despite these differences, both groups organized olfactory terms and odors into coherent structures along two main dimensions, with only minor variations. In conclusion, Mandarin Chinese contains a rich set of olfactory abstract concepts, and the semantic space partially mirrors the perceptual space, offering insights into language–perception interplay in olfaction.</p>