卷 (juǎn): to roll up, (fig.) to sweep up, to engulf, to drag into (a situation), (slang) to compete to an unhealthy degree, hypercompetitive
卷 (juǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “to roll up.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 龹 (structural) and 㔾 (structural). It ranks #1015 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 卷 a curled up scroll 㔾. Its radical form 卩 (seal) appears in many related characters such as 印 (yìn, to print), 卫 (wèi, vassal state during the Zhou Dynasty (1066–221 BC), located in present-day Henan and Hebei Provinces), 危 (wēi, danger).
Definitions
- to roll up
- (fig.) to sweep up
- to engulf
- to drag into (a situation)
- (slang) to compete to an unhealthy degree
- hypercompetitive
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA curled up scroll 㔾
Decomposition: ⿱龹㔾 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 卷 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 卷
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 卷入verb | juǎn rù | to be drawn into |
| 龙卷风noun | lóng juǎn fēng | tornado |
| 蛋卷noun | dàn juǎn | egg roll |
| 卷发verb | juǎn fà | curly hair |
| 卷宗noun | juàn zōng | file |
| 席卷verb | xí juǎn | to engulf |
| 胶卷noun | jiāo juǎn | roll of film |
| 卷心菜noun | juǎn xīn cài | cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) |
| 卷土重来phrase | juǎn tǔ chóng lái | lit. to return in a swirl of dust (idiom) |
| 卷轴noun | juàn zhóu | scroll (book or painting) |
| 考卷noun | kǎo juàn | exam paper |
| 春卷noun | chūn juǎn | egg roll |
| 卷子noun | juǎn zi | steamed roll |
| 案卷noun | àn juàn | records |
| 卷起verb | juǎn qǐ | variant of 捲起|卷起 |
卷 appears in 100 compound words: 43 as the first character, 43 as the last, and 14 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 卷 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
Example Sentences
卷字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
juǎn zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character "卷" may be difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
张琼姿餐厅卷入高金素梅涉贪案 昔“车内密会潘若迪”险...
zhāng 琼 zī cān tīng juǎn rù gāo jīn sù méi shè tān àn xī chē nèi mì huì pān ruò dí xiǎn . . .
Zhang Qiongzi's restaurant was involved in Gao Jin Sumei's corruption case, and the former "secret meeting with Pan Ruodi in the car" was dangerous...
高金素梅诈助理费再扩大!张琼姿餐厅卷贪污案
gāo jīn sù méi zhà zhù lǐ fèi zài kuò dà ! zhāng 琼 zī cān tīng juǎn tān wū àn
Gao Jin Sumei's fraud assistant fee is expanded again! Zhang Qiongzi's restaurant is involved in the corruption case
高金素梅涉贪扩大! 张琼姿餐厅卷入
gāo jīn sù méi shè tān kuò dà ! zhāng 琼 zī cān tīng juǎn rù
Gao Jin Sumei's corruption expands! Zhang Qiongzi's restaurant was involved
...深度] 川普重整关税工具箱 全球贸易乱局卷土重来
. . . shēn dù chuān pǔ chóng zhěng guān shuì gōng jù xiāng quán qiú mào yì luàn jú juǎn tǔ chóng lái
... Trump reorganizes the tariff toolbox and the global trade chaos is back
年味上墙!静安这幅“邻里新画卷”,让老小区变成了“..
nián wèi shàng qiáng ! jìng ān zhè fú lín lǐ xīn huà juǎn , ràng lǎo xiǎo qū biàn chéng le . .
New Year's flavor on the wall! Jing'an's "new picture of the neighborhood" has turned the old community into a ":
海啸席卷稻田, 淹没了城镇。
Hǎixiào xíjuǎn dàotián, yānmò le chéngzhèn.
Tsunamis swept through rice fields and flooded the towns.
汤姆卷起裤管，露出鲜红的袜子。
Tāngmǔ juǎnqǐ kùguǎn, lùchū xiānhóng de wàzi.
Tom rolled up his trouser legs, making his bright red socks visible.
由于产量过剩，卷心菜的价格下降了。
Yóuyú chǎnliàng guòshèng, juǎnxīncài de jiàgé xiàjiàng le.
The price of cabbage fell because of overproduction.
嗨, 我要一个炸薄饼卷。
Hāi, wǒ yào yī gè zhá báobǐng juǎn.
Hi, I'd like a deep-fried pizza roll.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 卷 (juǎn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 卷 and 下?
How many strokes does 卷 have?
What is the radical of 卷?
What are the components of 卷?
What are common words containing 卷?
What characters sound the same as 卷 (juǎn)?
Is 卷 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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