丸

Tap the pinyin to hear it

ball; pellet; pill

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Pictograph (象形字)

A fist 九 holding a pebble 丶

Components 九丶

pill · Heisig RSH #42

baseball — as a component also called: bottle of pills

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
吃了定心丸	chī le dìng xīn wán	to feel reassured
章鱼小丸子	zhāng yú xiǎo wán zi	takoyaki (octopus dumpling), a Japanese snack food
弹丸之地	dàn wán zhī dì	(idiom) tiny speck of land; small area
定心丸	dìng xīn wán	tranquilizer; sth that sets one's mind at ease
宽心丸儿	kuān xīn wán r	erhua variant of 寬心丸\|宽心丸[kuan1 xin1 wan2]
卫生丸	wèi shēng wán	mothball; (jocular term) bullet
速效救心丸	sù xiào jiù xīn wán	fast-acting heart pills (a medication developed in China in 1982 to treat heart conditions…
牛肉丸	niú ròu wán	beef meatballs
大蛇丸	Dà shé wán	Orochimaru, Japanese folktale hero; Orochimaru, character in the Naruto manga series
宽心丸	kuān xīn wán	reassuring explanation; consolatory words
丸子	wán zi	pills; balls; meatballs
丸山	Wán shān	Maruyama (Japanese surname and place name)
炸丸子	zhá wán zi	croquettes; deep fried food balls
摇头丸	yáo tóu wán	Ecstasy; MDMA
鱼丸	yú wán	fish ball
肉丸	ròu wán	meatball
药丸	yào wán	pill; CL:粒[li4]
弹丸	dàn wán	pellet
丸剂	wán jì	pill
睾丸激素	gāo wán jī sù	testosterone

These characters use 丸 as their sound component — compare how they read.