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永

Tap the pinyin to hear it

forever; always; perpetual

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HSK 3.0
Level 2
Old HSK
Level 4
Strokes
5
Radical
水 +1
Structure
Top–bottom 上下
Traditional
永
Common rank
#685
Unicode
U+6C38

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 永 is formed

Components 水 ? unknown part

How to remember it

eternity · Heisig RSH #138

水 water + a drop of

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 永

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

WordPinyinMeaning
永安市 Yǒng ān Shì Yong'an, a county-level city in Sanming City 三明市[San1 ming2 Shi4], Fujian
永动机 yǒng dòng jī perpetual motion machine
永平县 Yǒng píng Xiàn Yongping, a county in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture 大理白族自治州[Da4 li3 Bai2 zu2 Zi4 zhi4 zho…
永德县 Yǒng dé Xiàn Yongde, a county in Lincang City 臨滄市|临沧市[Lin2 cang1 Shi4], Yunnan
永新县 Yǒng xīn Xiàn Yongxin, a county in Ji'an City 吉安市[Ji2 an1 Shi4], Jiangxi
永城市 Yǒng chéng Shì Yongcheng, a county-level city in Shangqiu City 商丘市[Shang1 qiu1 Shi4], Henan
永定区 Yǒng dìng Qū Yongding, a district of Zhangjiajie City 張家界市|张家界市[Zhang1 jia1 jie4 Shi4], Hunan; Yongding…
金永南 Jīn Yǒng nán Kim Yong-nam (1928-), North Korean politician, foreign minister 1983-1998, president of th…
永无宁日 yǒng wú níng rì (in such circumstances) there will be no peace; one can never breathe easy
江永县 Jiāng yǒng Xiàn Jiangyong, a county in Yongzhou City 永州市[Yong3 zhou1 Shi4], Hunan
永州市 Yǒng zhōu Shì Yongzhou, prefecture-level city in Hunan Province 湖南省[Hu2 nan2 Sheng3]
永年区 Yǒng nián Qū Yongnian, a district of Handan City 邯鄲市|邯郸市[Han2 dan1 Shi4], Hebei
永和县 Yǒng hé Xiàn Yonghe, a county in Linfen City 臨汾市|临汾市[Lin2 fen2 Shi4], Shanxi
永和市 Yǒng hé shì Yonghe or Yungho city in New Taipei City 新北市[Xin1 bei3 shi4], Taiwan
永定门 Yǒng dìng mén Yongdingmen, front gate of the outer section of Beijing's old city wall, torn down in the …
永清县 Yǒng qīng Xiàn Yongqing, a county in Langfang City 廊坊市[Lang2 fang2 Shi4], Hebei
永定河 Yǒng dìng Hé Yongding River, the largest river flowing through Beijing
永宁县 Yǒng níng Xiàn Yongning, a county in Yinchuan City 銀川市|银川市[Yin2 chuan1 Shi4], Ningxia
永不 yǒng bù never; will never
王永民 Wáng Yǒng mín Wang Yongmin (1943-), inventor of the five stroke input method 五筆輸入法|五笔输入法[wu3 bi3 shu1 ru…

Sound family

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

CharacterPinyinMeaning
永 sound part yǒng long; perpetual, eternal; forever
泳 yǒng to swim, to dive
咏 yǒng to sing, to hum, to chant

Examples & usage

Real sentences with 永 — read them aloud, then paste your own into the converter.

  1. 我永远不会忘记这一天。

    Wǒ yǒngyuǎn bú huì wàngjì zhè yì tiān.

    I will never forget this day.

  2. 这座桥的设计追求永恒的美。

    Zhè zuò qiáo de shèjì zhuīqiú yǒnghéng de měi.

    This bridge's design pursues timeless beauty.

Usage tip: 永 的核心意思是「长久」，常见词是 永远 (forever) 和 永恒 (eternal)。