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 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 源头 | yuán tóu | source |
| 源自 | yuán zì | to originate from |
| 来源于 | lái yuán yú | to originate in |
| 水源 | shuǐ yuán | water source |
| 根源 | gēn yuán | origin |
| 源泉 | yuán quán | fountainhead |
| 发源地 | fā yuán dì | place of origin |
| 光源 | guāng yuán | light source |
| 渊源 | yuān yuán | origin |
| 热源 | rè yuán | heat source |
| 货源 | huò yuán | supply of goods |
| 财源 | cái yuán | financial resources |
| 病源 | bìng yuán | cause of disease |
| 客源 | kè yuán | source of customers |
| 泉源 | quán yuán | springhead |
源 appears in 100 compound words: 10 as the first character, 68 as the last, and 22 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 (15)
to remember where one's happiness comes from; to not forget one's roots or heritage
to remember where one's happiness comes from; to not forget one's roots or heritage
Showing 12 of 15 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
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 源 (yuán) mean in Chinese?
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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
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