元
currency unit (esp. Chinese yuan); (bound form) first; original; primary; (bound form) basic; fundamental; (bound form) constituent; part; (prefix) meta-; (math.) argument; variable; era (of a reign); (Tw) (geology) eon
4 strokes
Dict coverage rank #346 U+5143
How 元 is formed
Pictograph (象形字)
A man 儿 with two lines emphasizing their head 二
How to remember it
beginning · Heisig RSH #59
二 two + human legs
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Characters built with 元 as their sound component
These characters all use 元 (yuán) as their phonetic component — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 元 sound component | yuán | first; dollar; origin; head |
| 远 | yuǎn | distant, remote, far; profound |
| 园 | yuán | garden, park; orchard |
| 玩 | wán | to play with, to joke, to entertain |
| 完 | wán | to complete, to finish, to settle; whole |
| 顽 | wán | stubborn, recalcitrant, obstinate |
| 沅 | yuán | a river in western Hunan |
| 阮 | ruǎn | ancient musical instrument; surname |
| 芫 | yuán | a poisonous plant; Daphne genkwa |
| 朊 | ruǎn | protein |
| 蚖 | yuán | salamander, newt |
| 鼋 | yuán | large turtle, sea turtle |
Words containing 元
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 生物多元化 | shēng wù duō yuán huà | biodiversity |
| 多元文化主义 | duō yuán wén huà zhǔ yì | multiculturalism |
| 元山市 | Yuán shān shì | Wonsan city in Kangweon province 江原道 of North Korea |
| 天元区 | Tiān yuán Qū | Tianyuan, a district of Zhuzhou City 株洲市[Zhu1 zhou1 Shi4], Hunan |
| 一元化 | yī yuán huà | integration; integrated; unified |
| 三元区 | Sān yuán Qū | Sanyuan, a district of Sanming City 三明市[San1 ming2 Shi4], Fujian |
| 多元性 | duō yuán xìng | diversity |
| 不定元 | bù dìng yuán | indeterminate element (math.), often denoted by x |
| 多元化 | duō yuán huà | diversification; pluralism; to diversify |
| 元阳县 | Yuán yáng Xiàn | Yuanyang, a county in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture 紅河哈尼族彝族自治州|红河哈尼族彝族自治州[Hong2… |
| 元江县 | Yuán jiāng Xiàn | see 元江哈尼族彝族傣族自治縣|元江哈尼族彝族傣族自治县[Yuan2 jiang1 Ha1 ni2 zu2 Yi2 zu2 Dai3 zu2 Zi4 zhi4 xian4] |
| 化学元素 | huà xué yuán sù | chemical element |
| 中间神经元 | zhōng jiān shén jīng yuán | interneuron |
| 连中三元 | lián zhòng sān yuán | (old) to rank first in the imperial examinations at the provincial capital, the national c… |
| 一元 | yī yuán | (math.) single-variable; univariate |
| 元山 | Yuán shān | Wonsan city in Kangweon province 江原道 of North Korea |
| 三元音 | sān yuán yīn | triphthong (such as putonghua uei etc) |
| 八大元老 | Bā Dà Yuán lǎo | "the Eight Great Eminent Officials" of the CCP, namely 鄧小平|邓小平[Deng4 Xiao3 ping2], 陳雲|陈云[C… |
| 中元 | Zhōng yuán | Ghost Festival on 15th day of 7th lunar month when offerings are made to the deceased |
| 元语言能力 | yuán yǔ yán néng lì | metalinguistic ability |