婉 (wǎn): graceful, tactful
婉 (wǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “graceful.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 女 (semantic) and 宛 (phonetic). It ranks #2628 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 婉 woman. Its radical form 女 (woman) appears in many related characters such as 女 (nǚ, woman), 奶 (nǎi, grandmother, milk), 她 (tā, she).
Definitions
- graceful
- tactful
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 婉 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 委婉 | wěi wǎn | tactful |
| 婉转 | wǎn zhuǎn | (voice, music) suave |
| 婉拒 | wǎn jù | to tactfully decline |
| 温婉 | wēn wǎn | sweet-tempered |
| 哀婉 | āi wǎn | (esp. of poetry, music) melancholy |
| 委婉语 | wěi wǎn yǔ | euphemism |
| 婉如 | wǎn rú | variant of 宛如[wan3 ru2] |
| 委婉词 | wěi wǎn cí | euphemism |
| 清婉 | qīng wǎn | clear and soft (voice) |
| 婉言 | wǎn yán | tactful |
| 婉约 | wǎn yuē | graceful and subdued (style) |
| 婉称 | wǎn chēng | euphemism (tactful expression for sth unpleasant such as death) |
| 婉词 | wǎn cí | euphemism |
| 婉妙 | wǎn miào | sweet |
| 婉辞 | wǎn cí | tactful expression |
婉 appears in 17 compound words: 53 as the first character, 35 as the last, and 12 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 婉 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
古时候，婉子很少有机会接受教育。
gǔ shí hòu , wǎn zǐ hěn shǎo yǒu jī huì jiē shòu jiào yù .
In ancient times, Wan Zi rarely had the opportunity to receive an education.
...绝? NBA卫冕冠军雷霆称“时间乔不拢”婉拒访问白宫
. . . jué ? N B A wèi 冕 guàn jūn léi 霆 chèn shí jiān qiáo bù lǒng wǎn jù fǎng wèn bái gōng
...Really? The Thunder, the reigning NBA champions, politely declined an invitation to visit the White House, citing "scheduling conflicts."
...长者菜园挖到手掌状淮山“指甲”清晰可见 婉拒网民逾9000元收购
. . . cháng zhě cài yuán wā dào shǒu zhǎng zhuàng huái shān zhǐ jiǎ qīng xī kě jiàn wǎn jù wǎng mín yú 9 0 0 0 yuán shōu gòu
...Senior Citizen Finds Palm-Sized Chinese Yam with Distinct "Fingernails" in Garden; Declines Online Offer of Over 9,000 Yuan
黄婉恩重回单身后衣着更大胆 穿吊带薄纱裙海边...
huáng wǎn ēn chóng huí dān shēn hòu yī zhe gēng dà dǎn chuān diào dài báo shā qún hǎi biān . . .
Huang Wanen dressed bolder after returning to singleness, wearing a suspender tulle skirt on the beach...
经典赛/蔡其昌证实小熊来电婉拒 龙恩无法100%健康出赛
jīng diǎn sài 蔡 qí chāng zhèng shí xiǎo xióng lái diàn wǎn jù lóng ēn wú fǎ 1 0 0 jiàn kāng chū sài
Classic/Cai Qichang confirmed that the Cubs declined the call and Long En could not play 100% healthy
桃园清洁队马年开工收运 婉拒红包逾21万转捐公益
táo yuán qīng jié duì mǎ nián kāi gōng shōu yùn wǎn jù hóng bāo yú 2 1 wàn zhuǎn juān gōng yì
The Taoyuan cleaning team started work and transportation in the Year of the Horse, and declined more than 210,000 red envelopes to be donated to public welfare
婉君超爱追剧，韩剧、美剧她都看。
Wǎn jūn chāo ài zhuījù, Hán jù, Měijù tā dōu kàn.
Wan-chun’s a total drama addict — Korean, American, she watches them all.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 婉 (wǎn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 婉 have?
What is the radical of 婉?
What are the components of 婉?
What are common words containing 婉?
What characters sound the same as 婉 (wǎn)?
Is 婉 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 婉 with real-time feedback
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