Definitions

yuán (noun) garden; park
yuán (noun) yard; courtyard

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Simplified form of .

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character for garden or park historically derives from the traditional form "園", which integrates the radical "囗" representing an enclosed boundary with the component "袁" acting primarily as a phonetic indicator, together conveying the idea of a cultivated space set apart for growing plants or trees. Over time, its application extended to denote various types of designed enclosures, including pleasure gardens, orchards, and burial grounds, consistently emphasizing human stewardship within a defined perimeter. The simplified version "园" later altered this structure by substituting the internal "袁" with the phonetically similar but graphically simpler "元", thereby preserving the auditory clue while reducing visual complexity, yet the character's essential meaning of a curated and bounded area has remained stable throughout its linguistic journey.

Etymology Hide

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)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

里有一个长椅。

Gōngyuán lǐ yǒu yīgè chángyǐ.

There is a bench in the park.

这个花非常漂亮。

Zhège huāyuán fēicháng piàoliang.

This garden is very beautiful.

我的孩子在幼儿上学。

Wǒ de háizi zài yòu'éryuán shàngxué.

My child goes to kindergarten.

的清晨十分安静。

Xiàoyuán de qīngchén shífēn ānjìng.

The campus is very quiet in the early morning.

动物里有很多动物。

Dòngwùyuán lǐ yǒu hěnduō dòngwù.

There are many animals in the zoo.

这座林的设计很独特。

Zhè zuò yuánlín de shèjì hěn dútè.

The design of this classical garden is very unique.

我们参观了著名的颐和

Wǒmen cānguān le zhùmíng de Yíhéyuán.

We visited the famous Summer Palace.

那个有机农场更像一个生态

Nàgè yǒujī nóngchǎng gèng xiàng yīgè shēngtàiyuán.

That organic farm is more like an ecological park.