缘 (yuán): cause, reason, karma
缘 (yuán) is a Chinese character meaning “cause.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 纟 (semantic) and 彖 (phonetic). It ranks #1266 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 缘 thread. Its radical form 纟 (silk) appears in many related characters such as 系 (xì, to connect), 累 (lèi, tired), 绍 (shào, to continue).
Definitions
- cause
- reason
- karma
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 缘 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 边缘noun | biān yuán | edge |
| 缘故noun | yuán gù | reason |
| 无缘无故adverb | wú yuán wú gù | (idiom) no cause or reason |
| 血缘noun | xuè yuán | bloodline |
| 缘由 | yuán yóu | reason |
| 缘分noun | yuán fèn | fate or chance that brings people together |
| 人缘noun | rén yuán | the quality of one's relationships with other people (e.g. 人緣好|人缘好 "to be well liked") |
| 无缘verb | wú yuán | to have no opportunity |
| 投缘adjective | tóu yuán | to be kindred spirits |
| 情缘noun | qíng yuán | predestined love |
| 绝缘verb | jué yuán | to have no contact with |
| 机缘noun | jī yuán | chance |
| 因缘noun | yīn yuán | chance |
| 姻缘noun | yīn yuán | a marriage predestined by fate |
| 结缘verb | jié yuán | to form ties |
缘 appears in 60 compound words: 13 as the first character, 57 as the last, and 30 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 缘 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (8)
(idiom) one-time encounter (e.g. 有一面之緣|有一面之缘 "to have met once before")
(idiom) one-time encounter (e.g. 有一面之緣|有一面之缘 "to have met once before")
Showing 7 of 8 idioms containing 缘.
Example Sentences
缘分让我们相遇，成为了一生的朋友。
Yuánfèn ràng wǒmen xiāngyù, chéngwéi le yīshēng de péngyou.
Fate brought us together and made us friends for life.
地缘政治风险、AI泡沫疑虑伤不了 台积电市值...
dì yuán zhèng zhì fēng xiǎn , A I pāo mò yí lǜ shāng bù le tái jī diàn shì zhí . . .
Geopolitical risks and AI bubble doubts can't hurt TSMC's market value...
成节日消费新热点,老字号缘何成为年轻人“心头好”?
chéng jié rì xiāo fèi xīn rè diǎn , lǎo zì hào yuán hé chéng wéi nián qīng rén xīn tóu hǎo ?
[Translation pending - quota exceeded]
...申Ambarella股票买入评级,看好边缘AI实力
. . . shēn A m b a r e l l a gǔ piào mǎi rù píng jí , kàn hǎo biān yuán A I shí lì
... Shen Ambarella stock has a buy rating and is optimistic about the strength of edge AI
...马年说马丨赵艺博:海昏侯墓中的“马蹄金”缘何而来?
. . . mǎ nián shuō mǎ 丨 zhào yì bó hǎi hūn 侯 mù zhōng de mǎ 蹄 jīn yuán hé ér lái ?
...Year of the Horse: Zhao Yibo Explores the Origin of the "Horse-Hoof Gold" in the Tomb of the Marquis of Haihun
从经理心腹变边缘主管?资浅女上司带不动部属 网友直指重点
cóng jīng lǐ xīn fù biàn biān yuán zhǔ guǎn ? zī qiǎn nǚ shàng sī dài bù dòng bù shǔ wǎng yǒu zhí zhǐ chóng diǎn
From Manager's Right-Hand Woman to Marginalized Supervisor? Inexperienced Female Boss Struggles to Lead Team—Netizens Pinpoint the Crux
伦敦过去因为经济和文化的缘故，十分重要。
Lúndūn guòqù yīnwèi jīngjì hé wénhuà de yuángù, shífēn zhòngyào.
London was very important for economical and cultural reasons.
西洋常春藤是攀缘藤本植物。
Xīyáng chángchūnténg shì pān yuán téngběnzhíwù.
English ivy is a climbing vine.
你知道为什么吗？是猫的缘故。
Nǐ zhīdào wèishénme ma? shì māo de yuángù.
And you know why? Because of cats.
因为我这份工作的缘故，我总是要打领带。
Yīnwèi wǒ zhè fèn gōngzuò de yuángù, wǒ zǒngshì yào dǎ lǐngdài.
I always have to wear a tie because of my job.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 纟 (thread) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 缘 (yuán) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 缘 and 篆?
How many strokes does 缘 have?
What is the radical of 缘?
What are the components of 缘?
What are common words containing 缘?
What characters sound the same as 缘 (yuán)?
Is 缘 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 缘 with real-time feedback
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