燕
2 readings · tap one to hear it
swallow (family Hirundinidae); old variant of 宴[yan4]
- HSK 3.0
- Level 7–9
- Strokes
- 16
- Radical
- 火 +12
- Structure
- Top–bottom 上下
- Traditional
- 燕
- Common rank
- #818
- Unicode
- U+71D5
Sound it out + = · + =
Formation & memory
Break the character into parts you already know.
Words with 燕
The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 白眼河燕 | (bird species of China) white-eyed river martin (Pseudochelidon sirintarae) | |
| 小燕尾 | (bird species of China) little forktail (Enicurus scouleri) | |
| 线尾燕 | (bird species of China) wire-tailed swallow (Hirundo smithii) | |
| 白腹毛脚燕 | (bird species of China) Siberian house martin (Delichon lagopodum) | |
| 黑背燕尾 | (bird species of China) black-backed forktail (Enicurus immaculatus) | |
| 燕京大学 | Yanjing or Yenching University, Christian university in Beijing founded in 1919 | |
| 天燕座 | Apus (constellation) | |
| 燕子 | swallow | |
| 新婚燕尔 | (idiom) to experience the joy of being newly married | |
| 燕山 | Yan mountain range across north Hebei | |
| 燕国 | Yan, a vassal state of Zhou in modern Hebei and Liaoning; north Hebei; the four Yan kingdo… | |
| 劳燕分飞 | the shrike and the swallow fly in different directions (idiom); (usually of a couple) to p… | |
| 家燕 | (bird species of China) barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) | |
| 短嘴金丝燕 | (bird species of China) Himalayan swiftlet (Aerodramus brevirostris) | |
| 日本叉尾海燕 | (bird species of China) Matsudaira's storm petrel (Hydrobates matsudairae) | |
| 公燕 | banquet held for high-ranking imperial or feudal officials | |
| 小白腰雨燕 | (bird species of China) house swift (Apus nipalensis) | |
| 燕太子丹 | Prince Dan of Yan (-226 BC), commissioned the attempted assassination of King Ying Zheng o… | |
| 黑喉毛角燕 | (bird species of China) Nepal house martin (Delichon nipalense) | |
| 南燕 | Southern Yan of the Sixteen Kingdoms (398-410) |