原

yuán

厂 + 小 + 白

HSK 3.0Level 5

Definitions

yuán (adjective) original; primary

yuán (noun) source; cause; origin

yuán (adjective) former; raw

yuán (adjective) level; flat

Etymology

Depicts water coming from a spring (泉) on a cliff (厂).

Semantic: 厂 Phonetic: 泉

About

原 combines 厂 (hǎn) 'cliff' and 泉 (quán) 'spring', depicting water issuing from a spring at the base of a cliff. This image gave the character its original meaning: the source of a stream or river. Over time, that concrete sense extended to abstract origins or root causes. A separate meaning, 'plain' or 'plateau', also developed, referring to flat, open terrain.

Etymology Hide

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Seal etymology image

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Seal etymology image

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Wu (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我喜欢草原。

Wǒ xǐhuān cǎoyuán.

I like the grassland.

他原来很高。

Tā yuánlái hěn gāo.

He was originally very tall.

这是什么原因？

Zhè shì shénme yuányīn?

What is the reason for this?

请原谅我的错误。

Qǐng yuánliàng wǒ de cuòwù.

Please forgive my mistake.

我们必须坚持原则。

Wǒmen bìxū jiānchí yuánzé.

We must adhere to principles.

原始社会的人类生活很艰苦。

Yuánshǐ shèhuì de rénlèi shēnghuó hěn jiānkǔ.

Life in primitive society was very hard.

他原本计划去旅行，但取消了。

Tā yuánběn jìhuà qù lǚxíng, dàn qǔxiāo le.

He originally planned to travel, but canceled.

这部电影是根据原著小说改编的。

Zhè bù diànyǐng shì gēnjù yuánzhù xiǎoshuō gǎibiān de.

This movie is adapted from the original novel.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 厂

Component: 小

Component: 白

Example Words