沿 (yán): along, to follow (a line, tradition etc), to carry on
沿 (yán) is a Chinese character meaning “along.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic). It ranks #1178 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 沿 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
- along
- to follow (a line, tradition etc)
- to carry on
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 沿 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 沿
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 沿着 | yán zhe | to go along |
| 前沿 | qián yán | (military) forward position |
| 沿途 | yán tú | along the sides of the road |
| 沿岸 | yán àn | coastal area |
| 沿河 | yán hé | see 沿河土家族自治縣|沿河土家族自治县[Yan2 he2 Tu3 jia1 zu2 Zi4 zhi4 xian4] |
| 沿用 | yán yòng | to continue to use (old methods) |
| 边沿 | biān yán | edge |
| 沿线 | yán xiàn | along the line (e.g. railway) |
| 沿袭 | yán xí | to carry on as before |
| 沿海地区 | yán hǎi dì qū | coastland |
| 床沿 | chuáng yán | the edge of a bed |
| 马路沿儿 | mǎ lù yán r | roadside |
| 相沿成习 | xiāng yán chéng xí | well established |
| 沿条儿 | yán tiáo r | tape seam (in dressmaking) |
| 沿边儿 | yán biān r | to trim (border with braid, tape etc) |
沿 appears in 31 compound words: 77 as the first character, 13 as the last, and 10 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 沿 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
沿着这条路一直走，就能看到那座桥。
Yánzhe zhè tiáo lù yīzhí zǒu, jiù néng kàn dào nà zuò qiáo.
Walk straight along this road, and you will see that bridge.
...览提供逾2000创科职位 参加者可体验前沿科技应用
. . . lǎn tí gōng yú 2 0 0 0 chuàng kē zhí wèi cān jiā zhě kě tǐ yàn qián yán kē jì yīng yòng
...The exhibition features over 2,000 innovation and technology job openings, and attendees can experience cutting-edge technology applications
中小新股混战 华沿机器人暂最热 5公司IPO筹53亿 来自...
zhōng xiǎo xīn gǔ hùn zhàn huá yán jī qì rén zàn zuì rè 5 gōng sī I P O chóu 5 3 yì lái zì . . .
Small and Medium-Sized New Stocks in a Fierce Battle; Huayan Robotics Currently the Hottest; 5 Companies Raise 5.3 Billion in IPOs; From...
...美军用5000磅钻地弹 轰炸霍尔木兹海峡沿岸导弹基地
. . . měi jūn yòng 5 0 0 0 bàng zuān dì dàn hōng zhà huò ěr mù zī hǎi xiá yán àn dǎo dàn jī dì
...U.S. forces used 5,000-pound bunker-busting bombs to strike missile bases along the coast of the Strait of Hormuz
...大学深圳研究院开幕 聚焦生物医学等四大前沿领域
. . . dà xué shēn 圳 yán jiū yuàn kāi mù jù jiāo shēng wù yī xué děng sì dà qián yán lǐng yù
...University of Shenzhen Research Institute Opens, Focusing on Four Cutting-Edge Fields Including Biomedical Science
中国最高法:涉高科技、前沿科技领域纠纷案件持续增加
zhōng guó zuì gāo fǎ : shè gāo kē jì , qián yán kē jì lǐng yù jiū fēn àn jiàn chí xù zēng jiā
China's Supreme Court: Disputes involving high-tech and cutting-edge science and technology continue to increase
我们沿着湖岸散步。
Wǒmen yánzhe hú àn sànbù.
We walk along the lakeside.
沿着栅栏走时, 他看到了一只老鼠。
Yánzhe zhàlán zǒushí, tā kàn dào le yī zhī lǎoshǔ.
Walking along the fence he noticed a mouse.
他们沿着非洲西岸航行了。
Tāmen yánzhe Fēizhōu xī àn hángxíng le.
They sailed along the west coast of Africa.
部落成员沿着河岸定居了。
Bùluò chéngyuán yánzhe hé'àn dìngjū le.
Members of that tribe settled along the river.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 沿 (yán)?
Is 沿 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 沿 with real-time feedback
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