原 (yuán): former, original, primary, raw, level, cause
原 (yuán) is a Chinese character meaning “former.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 厂 (semantic) and 泉 (phonetic). It ranks #193 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 原 cliff. Its radical form 厂 (cliff) appears in many related characters such as 厂 (chǎng, factory), 历 (lì, to experience), 压 (yā, to press).
Definitions
- former
- original
- primary
- raw
- level
- cause
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 原 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 原
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 原因noun | yuán yīn | cause | 4 |
| 原谅verb | yuán liàng | to excuse | 4 |
| 原来noun/adjective/adverb | yuán lái | original | 4 |
| 原则noun | yuán zé | principle | 5 |
| 原本adverb | yuán běn | originally | 6 |
| 原始adjective | yuán shǐ | first | 6 |
| 原先noun | yuán xiān | originally | 6 |
| 原理noun | yuán lǐ | principle | 6 |
| 原料noun | yuán liào | raw material | 6 |
| 草原noun | cǎo yuán | grassland | 6 |
| 还原verb | huán yuán | to restore to the original state | 6 |
| 高原noun | gāo yuán | plateau | 6 |
| 原有adjective | yuán yǒu | original | 5 |
| 原材料noun | yuán cái liào | raw and semifinished materials | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 原地noun | yuán dì | (in) the original place |
| 原告noun | yuán gào | complainant |
| 复原 | fù yuán | to restore (sth) to (its) former condition |
| 原子弹 | yuán zǐ dàn | atomic bomb |
| 原样noun | yuán yàng | original shape |
| 原子noun | yuán zǐ | atom |
| 原型noun | yuán xíng | model |
| 平原noun | píng yuán | field |
| 原意noun | yuán yì | original meaning |
| 病原体 | bìng yuán tǐ | (med.) pathogen |
| 原形noun | yuán xíng | original shape |
| 原状noun | yuán zhuàng | previous condition |
| 原件noun | yuán jiàn | the original |
| 原点noun | yuán diǎn | starting point |
| 原文noun | yuán wén | original text |
原 appears in 106 compound words: 64 as the first character, 34 as the last, and 2 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 原 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (16)
(lit.) the original seal has not been disturbed (idiom); (fig.) left completely unchanged; untouched; intact
(lit.) the original seal has not been disturbed (idiom); (fig.) left completely unchanged; untouched; intact
Showing 12 of 16 idioms containing 原.
Example Sentences
原来你在这里，我找了你半天。
Yuánlái nǐ zài zhèlǐ, wǒ zhǎo le nǐ bàn tiān.
So you were here; I've been looking for you for a long time.
...大黄狗被人从5楼丢下“凶手抓到了” 虐狗原因曝光
. . . dà huáng gǒu bèi rén cóng 5 lóu diū xià xiōng shǒu zhuā dào le nüè gǒu yuán yīn pù guāng
... The big yellow dog was dropped from the 5th floor "The murderer was caught" and the reason for the dog abuse was exposed
为什么百货公司一楼没厕?背后原因超心机
wéi shén má bǎi huò gōng sī yī lóu méi cè ? bèi hòu yuán yīn chāo xīn jī
Why is there no toilet on the first floor of a department store? The reason behind it is super scheming
科学内调成美肤新刚需,肌原光以“产学研”硬实力登陆..
kē xué nèi diào chéng měi fū xīn gāng xū , jī yuán guāng yǐ chǎn xué yán yìng shí lì dēng lù . .
Scientific internal adjustment has become a new demand for skin beauty, Myogen Light with "production, research and learning" hard power to land...
新春走基层|拉萨:年货购销两旺 高原喜迎新年
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng lā sà nián huò gòu xiāo liǎng wàng gāo yuán xǐ yíng xīn nián
New Year's walk grassroots | Lhasa: New Year's goods purchase and sale of two prosperous plateau to welcome the new year
深夜,黄金、白银、原油齐涨,美股三大指数集体上涨丨..
shēn yè , huáng jīn bái yín yuán yóu qí zhǎng , měi gǔ sān dà zhǐ shǔ jí tī shǎng zhǎng 丨 . .
Late at night, gold, silver, and crude oil all rose, while the three major U.S. stock indices collectively advanced.
我有必要向他解释原因吗？
Wǒ yǒu bìyào xiàng tā jiěshì yuányīn ma?
Is it necessary for me to explain the reason to him?
爆炸的原因是什么？
Bàozhà de yuányīn shì shénme?
What was the cause of the explosion?
你怎么解释你缺席的原因？
Nǐ zěnme jiěshì nǐ quēxí de yuányīn?
How do you account for your absence?
您在英国从事中医工作的原因是什么？
Nín zài Yīngguó cóngshì Zhōngyī gōngzuò de yuányīn shì shénme?
What are your reasons for practising Chinese medicine in the UK?
Character Family
厂 Radical Family — Characters sharing the cliff radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 原 (yuán) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 原 and 腺?
How many strokes does 原 have?
What is the radical of 原?
What are the components of 原?
What are common words containing 原?
What characters sound the same as 原 (yuán)?
Is 原 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 原 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.