援 (yuán): to help, to assist, to aid
援 (yuán) is a Chinese character meaning “to help.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (structural) and 爰 (structural). It ranks #1192 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 援 to lead 爰 by hand 扌; 爰 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- to help
- to assist
- to aid
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo lead 爰 by hand 扌; 爰 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰扌爰 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 援 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 援
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 支援 | zhī yuán | to provide assistance |
| 援助 | yuán zhù | to help |
| 后援 | hòu yuán | reinforcement |
| 增援 | zēng yuán | to reinforce |
| 援军 | yuán jūn | (military) reinforcements |
| 援救 | yuán jiù | to come to the aid of |
| 孤立无援 | gū lì wú yuán | isolated and without help |
| 求援 | qiú yuán | to ask for help |
| 援兵 | yuán bīng | (military) reinforcements |
| 外援 | wài yuán | foreign aid |
| 声援 | shēng yuán | to support (a cause) |
| 援引 | yuán yǐn | to quote |
| 攀援 | pān yuán | to climb up (a rope etc) |
| 奥援 | ào yuán | hidden ally |
| 后援会 | hòu yuán huì | support group (e.g. for an election candidate) |
援 appears in 40 compound words: 35 as the first character, 50 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 援 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (11)
to run out of ammunition as reinforcements are also not forthcoming; to be in a desperate situation
girl who engages in enjo-kōsai; see also 援助交際|援助交际[yuan2 zhu4 jiao1 ji4]
dating with compensation (payments, financial support, etc.); schoolgirl prostitution
to run out of ammunition as reinforcements are also not forthcoming; to be in a desperate situation
girl who engages in enjo-kōsai; see also 援助交際|援助交际[yuan2 zhu4 jiao1 ji4]
dating with compensation (payments, financial support, etc.); schoolgirl prostitution
Showing 10 of 11 idioms containing 援.
Example Sentences
他援起袖子，开始认真地打扫房间。
tā yuán qǐ xiù zǐ , kāi shǐ rèn zhēn dì dǎ sǎo fáng jiān .
He rolled up his sleeves and began to clean the room thoroughly.
女总裁秘恋陈子强“金援数百万” 画作、代言全买单...突然遭断...
nǚ zǒng cái mì liàn chén zǐ qiáng jīn yuán shǔ bǎi wàn huà zuò , dài yán quán mǎi dān . . . tū rán zāo duàn . . .
The female president secretly loves Chen Ziqiang's "millions of financial aid" paintings and endorsements are all paid... Suddenly cut off...
...2岁女童跌出滑雪缆车吊挂8米高空 直坠救援网外受伤
. . . 2 suì nǚ tóng diē chū huá xuě lǎn chē diào guà 8 mǐ gāo kōng zhí zhuì jiù yuán wǎng wài shòu shāng
... A 2-year-old girl fell out of the ski lift and was suspended 8 meters from the sky and fell straight outside the rescue net and was injured
大黄狗遭3楼丢下!肝脏碎裂 民众救援心疼
dà huáng gǒu zāo 3 lóu diū xià ! gān zāng suì liè mín zhòng jiù yuán xīn téng
The big yellow dog was dropped on the 3rd floor! The liver is broken, and the people are distressed
财政部:网传500令吉斋戒月援助属假消息
cái zhèng bù : wǎng chuán 5 0 0 lìng jí 斋 jiè yuè yuán zhù shǔ jiǎ xiāo xī
Ministry of Finance: The RM500 Ramadan aid spread online is fake news
视频丨跨越4000多公里 为了让援疆民警尝到家的味..
shì pín 丨 kuà yuè 4 0 0 0 duō gōng lǐ wéi le ràng yuán jiāng mín jǐng cháng dào jiā de wèi . .
Video丨Spanning more than 4,000 kilometers, in order to let the police who aid Xinjiang taste the taste of home:
“天主是我们的救援。”，牧师说。
"Tiānzhǔ shì wǒmen de jiùyuán.", mùshī shuō.
"God is our salvation," said the priest.
没有其他人伸出援手。
Méiyǒu qítā rén shēnchū yuánshǒu.
Nobody else offered to help.
他的援助真是雪中送炭。
Tā de yuánzhù zhēnshi xuězhōngsòngtàn.
His help has been invaluable.
红十字会不断地给灾区提供食物援助。
Hóngshízì huì bù duàn de gěi zāiqū tígōng shíwù yuánzhù.
The Red Cross constantly supplies food to the disaster areas.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 援 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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