元

Tap the pinyin to hear it

currency unit (esp. Chinese yuan); (bound form) first; original; primary; (bound form) basic; fundamental; (bound form) constituent; part; (prefix) meta-; (math.) argument; variable; era (of a reign); (Tw) (geology) eon

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HSK 3.0: Level 1
Old HSK: Level 3
Strokes: 4
Radical: 儿 +2
Structure: Top–bottom 上下
Traditional: 元
Common rank: #346
Unicode: U+5143

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 元 is formed

Pictograph (象形字)

A man 儿 with two lines emphasizing their head 二

Components 二儿

How to remember it

beginning · Heisig RSH #59

二 two + human legs

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 元

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

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
生物多元化	shēng wù duō yuán huà	biodiversity
多元文化主义	duō yuán wén huà zhǔ yì	multiculturalism
元山市	Yuán shān shì	Wonsan city in Kangweon province 江原道 of North Korea
天元区	Tiān yuán Qū	Tianyuan, a district of Zhuzhou City 株洲市[Zhu1 zhou1 Shi4], Hunan
一元化	yī yuán huà	integration; integrated; unified
三元区	Sān yuán Qū	Sanyuan, a district of Sanming City 三明市[San1 ming2 Shi4], Fujian
多元性	duō yuán xìng	diversity
不定元	bù dìng yuán	indeterminate element (math.), often denoted by x
多元化	duō yuán huà	diversification; pluralism; to diversify
元阳县	Yuán yáng Xiàn	Yuanyang, a county in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture 紅河哈尼族彝族自治州\|红河哈尼族彝族自治州[Hong2…
元江县	Yuán jiāng Xiàn	see 元江哈尼族彝族傣族自治縣\|元江哈尼族彝族傣族自治县[Yuan2 jiang1 Ha1 ni2 zu2 Yi2 zu2 Dai3 zu2 Zi4 zhi4 xian4]
化学元素	huà xué yuán sù	chemical element
中间神经元	zhōng jiān shén jīng yuán	interneuron
连中三元	lián zhòng sān yuán	(old) to rank first in the imperial examinations at the provincial capital, the national c…
一元	yī yuán	(math.) single-variable; univariate
元山	Yuán shān	Wonsan city in Kangweon province 江原道 of North Korea
三元音	sān yuán yīn	triphthong (such as putonghua uei etc)
八大元老	Bā Dà Yuán lǎo	"the Eight Great Eminent Officials" of the CCP, namely 鄧小平\|邓小平[Deng4 Xiao3 ping2], 陳雲\|陈云[C…
中元	Zhōng yuán	Ghost Festival on 15th day of 7th lunar month when offerings are made to the deceased
元语言能力	yuán yǔ yán néng lì	metalinguistic ability

Sound family

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

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
元 sound part	yuán	first; dollar; origin; head
远	yuǎn	distant, remote, far; profound
园	yuán	garden, park; orchard
玩	wán	to play with, to joke, to entertain
完	wán	to complete, to finish, to settle; whole
顽	wán	stubborn, recalcitrant, obstinate
沅	yuán	a river in western Hunan
阮	ruǎn	ancient musical instrument; surname
芫	yuán	a poisonous plant; Daphne genkwa
朊	ruǎn	protein
蚖	yuán	salamander, newt
鼋	yuán	large turtle, sea turtle