演 (yǎn): to perform (a play etc), to stage (a show), (bound form) to develop, to play out, to carry out (a task)
演 (yǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “to perform (a play etc).” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic) and 寅 (phonetic). It ranks #715 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 演 water. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- to perform (a play etc)
- to stage (a show)
- (bound form) to develop
- to play out
- to carry out (a task)
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 演 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 演
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 表演verb | biǎo yǎn | play | 3 |
| 演员noun | yǎn yuán | actor | 4 |
| 演出verb | yǎn chū | to act (in a play) | 4 |
| 扮演verb | bàn yǎn | to play the role of | 6 |
| 演唱verb | yǎn chàng | to sing (for an audience) | 4 |
| 演讲verb | yǎn jiǎng | to give a lecture | 5 |
| 演奏verb | yǎn zòu | to perform on a musical instrument | 6 |
| 主演verb/noun | zhǔ yǎn | to play the leading role | 6 |
| 导演verb/noun | dǎo yǎn | to direct | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 演唱会noun | yǎn chàng huì | vocal recital or concert |
| 演戏verb | yǎn xì | to put on a play |
| 上演verb | shàng yǎn | to screen (a movie) |
| 演绎verb | yǎn yì | (of a story etc) to unfold |
| 演示verb | yǎn shì | to demonstrate |
| 演说verb | yǎn shuō | speech |
| 演习verb | yǎn xí | (military, firefighting etc) (verb and noun) drill |
| 演播室noun | yǎn bō shì | broadcasting studio |
| 巡演verb | xún yǎn | (theater etc) to tour |
| 重演verb | chóng yǎn | to recur (of events, esp. adverse ones) |
| 试演verb | shì yǎn | audition |
| 演技noun | yǎn jì | acting |
| 巡回演出 | xún huí yǎn chū | (theater etc) to tour |
| 出演verb | chū yǎn | to perform (in a play, film, concert etc) |
| 饰演verb | shì yǎn | to act |
演 appears in 100 compound words: 37 as the first character, 44 as the last, and 19 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 演 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (13)
to plan military strategy using a sand table; to conduct a practice run; to do a rehearsal; to run a mock
Showing 12 of 13 idioms containing 演.
Example Sentences
暴雨过后，演水上涨，淹没了低洼的街道。
bào yǔ guò hòu , yǎn shuǐ shǎng zhǎng , yān méi le dī 洼 de jiē dào .
After the downpour, the floodwaters rose, submerging the low-lying streets.
夜王|郑秀文被要求胸部垫Pad演V姐 Sammi..每边double都冇...
yè wáng zhèng xiù wén bèi yāo qiú xiōng bù diàn P a d yǎn V jiě S a m m i . . měi biān d o u b l e dōu 冇 . . .
Night King|Sammi Cheng was asked to play Sister V with a pad on her chest. There are no doubles on either side...
...大利亚参加2026年卡卡杜多边海上联合军演
. . . dà lì yà cān jiā 2 0 2 6 nián kǎ kǎ dù duō biān hǎi shàng lián gě jūn yǎn
... Dalia participated in the 2026 Kakadu Multilateral Maritime Joint Military Exercise
罗素克洛主演的《纽伦堡》3月Netflix上线
luó sù kè 洛 zhǔ yǎn de niǔ lún bǎo 3 yuè N e t f l i x shàng xiàn
"Nuremberg" starring Russell Crowe will be launched on Netflix in March
王菲连两年春晚开唱!粉丝敲碗办演唱会 宽姐松口了
wáng 菲 lián liǎng nián chūn wǎn kāi chàng ! fěn sī qiāo wǎn bàn yǎn chàng huì kuān jiě sōng kǒu le
Faye Wong has been singing at the Spring Festival Gala for two consecutive years! Fans knocked on the bowl to hold a concert, and Sister Kuan let go
注入运动机能的都市休闲服 9m88柯炜林演绎科技布料的日常穿搭
zhù rù yùn dòng jī néng de dōu shì xiū xián fú 9 m 8 8 柯 炜 lín yǎn yì kē jì bù liào de rì cháng chuān dā
Urban casual wear infused with sports functions 9m88 Ke Weilin interprets the daily wear of technological fabrics
你能演奏管风琴吗？
Nǐ néng yǎnzòu guǎnfēngqín ma?
Can you play the organ?
那个演奏会几点开始？
Nàge yǎnzòu huì jǐdiǎn kāishǐ?
What time is the concert?
祝今晚首演顺利，成功！
Zhù jīnwǎn shǒuyǎn shùnlì, chénggōng!
Good luck with tonight's performance!
我们为表演者鼓掌。
Wǒmen wèi biǎoyǎnzhě gǔzhǎng.
We gave the performer a round of applause.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 氵 (water) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 演 (yǎn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 演 have?
What is the radical of 演?
What are the components of 演?
What are common words containing 演?
What characters sound the same as 演 (yǎn)?
Is 演 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 演 with real-time feedback
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