约

2 readings · tap one to hear it

to make an appointment; to invite; approximately; pact; treaty; to economize; to restrict; to reduce (a fraction); concise

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

thread

Components 纟勺

make an appointment · Heisig RSH #1090

thread + 勺 ladle

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

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

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
中法新约	Zhōng Fǎ xīn yuē	treaty of Tianjin of 1885 ceding Vietnam to France
马约特	Mǎ yuē tè	Mayotte, island between NW Madagascar and Mozambique
公约数	gōng yuē shù	(math.) common factor; common divisor
联合国海洋法公约	Lián hé guó Hǎi yáng fǎ Gōng yuē	United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
约西亚	Yuē xī yà	Josiah or Yoshiyahu (649-609 BC), a king of Judah (Judaism)
日光节约时	rì guāng jié yuē shí	daylight saving time
大约	dà yuē	approximately; probably
马约卡	Mǎ yuē kǎ	Mallorca or Majorca (island of Spain)
不约而同	bù yuē ér tóng	(idiom) (of two or more people) to take the same action without prior consultation; (usu. …
化约	huà yuē	to simplistically reduce (sth) to just ...; to regard (sth) as merely ...
阿罗约	Ā luó yuē	surname Arroyo
约会	yuē huì	appointment; engagement; date; CL:次[ci4],個\|个[ge4]; to arrange to meet
约克	Yuē kè	York
约分	yuē fēn	reduced fraction (e.g. one half for three sixths); to reduce a fraction by canceling commo…
约书亚	Yuē shū yà	Joshua (name)
公民权利和政治权利国际公约	gōng mín quán lì hé zhèng zhì quán lì guó jì gōng yuē	International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
新约全书	Xīn yuē quán shū	New Testament
公约	gōng yuē	convention (i.e. international agreement)
约法	yuē fǎ	temporary law; provisional constitution
文约	wén yuē	contract; written agreement

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

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
约 sound part	yuē	treaty, covenant, agreement
药	yào	drugs, medicine; the leaf of the Dahurian angelica plant
哟	yō	ah, final particle