元 (yuán): Yuan dynasty (1279–1368), currency unit (esp. Chinese yuan), (bound form) first, original, primary
元 (yuán) is a Chinese character meaning “yuan dynasty (1279–1368).” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 二 (structural) and 儿 (structural). It ranks #370 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 元 a man 儿 with two lines emphasizing their head 二. Its radical form 儿 (legs) appears in many related characters such as 儿 (ér, child), 先 (xiān, beforehand), 克 (kè, abbr. for 克羅地亞|克罗地亚, Croatia).
Definitions
- Yuan dynasty (1279–1368)
- currency unit (esp. Chinese yuan)
- (bound form) first
- original
- primary
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA man 儿 with two lines emphasizing their head 二
Decomposition: ⿱二儿 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 元 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 元
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 元素noun | yuán sù | element (key component of sth) | 6 |
| 单元noun | dān yuán | unit (forming an entity) | 5 |
| 公元noun | gōng yuán | CE (Common Era) | 6 |
| 元宵noun | yuán xiāo | Lantern Festival | 6 |
| 元旦noun | yuán dàn | New Year's Day | 5 |
| 多元adjective | duō yuán | poly- | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 美元 | měi yuán | American dollar |
| 元首 | yuán shǒu | head of state |
| 欧元 | ōu yuán | euro (currency) |
| 元老 | yuán lǎo | senior figure |
| 日元 | rì yuán | Japanese yen (unit of currency) |
| 公元前 | gōng yuán qián | BCE (before the Common Era) |
| 韩元 | hán yuán | South Korean won (currency) |
| 元凶 | yuán xiōng | chief offender |
| 元帅 | yuán shuài | (military) marshal |
| 元件 | yuán jiàn | element |
| 元音 | yuán yīn | vowel |
| 元气 | yuán qì | vigor |
| 多元化 | duō yuán huà | diversification |
| 大元帅 | dà yuán shuài | generalissimo |
| 二元 | èr yuán | duality |
元 appears in 100 compound words: 36 as the first character, 46 as the last, and 18 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 元 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
variant of 開國元勳|开国元勋, founding figure (of country or dynasty); founding father; fig. also used of company, school etc
Marshal Zhao, aka Zhao Gongming or Zhao Xuantan, God of Wealth in the Chinese folk tradition and Taoism
variant of 開國元勳|开国元勋, founding figure (of country or dynasty); founding father; fig. also used of company, school etc
Showing 9 of 10 idioms containing 元.
Example Sentences
元字的写法很特别，让我印象深刻。
yuán zì de xiě fǎ hěn tè bié , ràng wǒ yìn xiàng shēn kè .
The way the character "元" is written is quite unique and has left a deep impression on me.
龙吟虎啸:美元地位曾经衰落
lóng yín hǔ xiào : měi yuán dì wèi céng jīng shuāi luò
The roar of the dragon and the roar: The status of the dollar has declined
订单爆了!90后男生春节可赚16万元
dìng dān bào le ! 9 0 hòu nán shēng chūn jié kě zhuàn 1 6 wàn yuán
The order is exploding! Post-90s boys can earn 160,000 yuan during the Spring Festival
美国向联合国支付1.6亿美元部分欠款,仅为其约20..
měi guó xiàng lián gě guó zhī fù 1 . 6 yì měi yuán bù fēn qiàn kuǎn , jǐn wéi qí yuē 2 0 . .
The United States pays part of its $160 million arrears to the United Nations, only about 20 percent.
10万元财物失而复得,长沙火车站春运暖心守护旅客...
1 0 wàn yuán cái wù shī ér fù dé , cháng shā huǒ chē zhàn chūn yùn nuǎn xīn shǒu hù lǚ kè . . .
100,000 yuan of property was lost and recovered, and Changsha Railway Station warmly guarded passengers during the Spring Festival...
落地上海就过年,浦东机场打造多元场景“新年味”
luò dì shàng hǎi jiù guò nián , pǔ dōng jī chǎng dǎ zào duō yuán chǎng jǐng xīn nián wèi
Landing in Shanghai to celebrate the New Year, Pudong Airport creates a multi-scene "New Year's flavor"
你有100万美元的话，你会做什么？
Nǐ yǒu yī bǎi wàn Měiyuán de huà, nǐ huì zuò shénme?
What would you do if you had a million dollars?
每月六百元，每周一天休息，行吗？
Měiyuè liù bǎi yuán, měizhōu yī tiān xiūxi, xíng ma?
Six hundred dollars a month, with a day rest every week. That works for you?
你觉得你在美国每天只用一美元能生活吗？
Nǐ juéde nǐ zài Měiguó měitiān zhǐ yòng yī Měiyuán néng shēnghuó ma?
Do you think you can live on a dollar a day in America?
用100美元可以支持多久？
Yòng 100 Měiyuán kěyǐ zhīchí duōjiǔ?
How long can it be kept going with 100 dollars?
Character Family
儿 Radical Family — Characters sharing the legs radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 元 (yuán) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 元 have?
What is the radical of 元?
What are the components of 元?
What are common words containing 元?
What characters sound the same as 元 (yuán)?
Is 元 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 元 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.