源 (yuán): root, source, origin
源 (yuán) is a Chinese character meaning “root.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic) and 原 (phonetic). It ranks #670 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 源 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
- root
- source
- origin
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 源 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 源
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 来源noun/verb | lái yuán | source (of information etc) | 5 |
| 资源noun | zī yuán | natural resource (such as water or minerals) | 5 |
| 能源noun | néng yuán | energy sources | 6 |
| 电源noun | diàn yuán | electric power source | 6 |
| 起源verb/noun | qǐ yuán | origin | 6 |
| 源于verb | yuán yú | has its origins in | 6 |
| 新能源noun | xīn néng yuán | new energy | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 源头noun | yuán tóu | source |
| 源自verb | yuán zì | to originate from |
| 来源于 | lái yuán yú | to originate in |
| 水源noun | shuǐ yuán | water source |
| 根源noun | gēn yuán | origin |
| 源泉noun | yuán quán | fountainhead |
| 发源地noun | fā yuán dì | place of origin |
| 光源noun | guāng yuán | light source |
| 渊源noun | yuān yuán | origin |
| 热源noun | rè yuán | heat source |
| 货源noun | huò yuán | supply of goods |
| 财源noun | cái yuán | financial resources |
| 水资源 | shuǐ zī yuán | water resource |
| 病源noun | bìng yuán | cause of disease |
| 客源noun | kè yuán | source of customers |
源 appears in 101 compound words: 13 as the first character, 72 as the last, and 15 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 源 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (16)
to remember where one's happiness comes from; to not forget one's roots or heritage
(idiom) of long standing; with a long history; stretching back to ancient times
to remember where one's happiness comes from; to not forget one's roots or heritage
(idiom) of long standing; with a long history; stretching back to ancient times
Showing 12 of 16 idioms containing 源.
Example Sentences
这条河的源头在山上，水质非常清澈。
Zhè tiáo hé de yuántóu zài shān shàng, shuǐzhì fēicháng qīngchè.
The source of this river is in the mountains, and the water quality is very clear.
联发科执行长蔡力行指能源是AI最大限制 台达电再创新高价
lián fā kē zhí háng cháng 蔡 lì háng zhǐ néng yuán shì A I zuì dà xiàn zhì tái dá diàn zài chuàng xīn gāo jià
MediaTek CEO Cai Lixing pointed out that energy is the biggest limitation of AI, and Delta has hit a new high price
“超级皖”美食争霸赛总决赛收官 豆腐发源地淮南夺冠
chāo jí 皖 měi shí zhēng bà sài zǒng jué sài shōu guān dòu fǔ fā yuán dì huái nán duó guàn
The finals of the "Super Anhui" Food Championship ended with Huainan, the birthplace of tofu, winning the championship
马来西亚外海7.1强震 震源极深未发海啸警报
mǎ lái xī yà wài hǎi 7 . 1 qiáng zhèn zhèn yuán jí shēn wèi fā hǎi xiào jǐng bào
The 7.1 strong earthquake off the coast of Malaysia had a very deep epicenter and no tsunami warning was issued
俄军打击乌能源设施 乌克兰多地大面积停电
é jūn dǎ jī wū néng yuán shè shī wū kè lán duō dì dà miàn jī tíng diàn
Russian forces hit Ukrainian energy facilities Large-scale power outages in many places in Ukraine
“友谊”管道中断背后的博弈:能源战与欧盟扩员之争
yǒu yì guǎn dào zhōng duàn bēi hòu de bó yì néng yuán zhàn yú ōu méng kuò yuán zhī zhēng
The Game Behind the Disruption of the "Friendship" Pipeline: The Energy War and the EU Expansion Debate
日本自然资源贫乏。
Rìběn zìránzīyuán pínfá.
Japan is poor in natural resources.
金钱是一切罪恶之源。
Jīnqián shì yīqiè zuì'è zhī yuán.
Money is the root of all evil.
奥林匹克的起源是什么？
àolínpǐkè de qǐyuán shì shénme?
What are the origins of the Olympics?
电源转接器的包装盒在哪里？
Diànyuán zhuǎnjiē qì de bāozhuāng hé zài nǎlǐ?
Where's the box the power supply came in?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 氵 (water) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 源 (yuán) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 源 have?
What is the radical of 源?
What are the components of 源?
What are common words containing 源?
What characters sound the same as 源 (yuán)?
Is 源 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 源 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.