垣

yuán

亘 + 土

Definitions

yuán wall

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 土 represents the meaning and 亘 represents the sound.

Semantic: 土 Phonetic: 亘

About

The Chinese character 垣 (yuán) denotes a wall, specifically a low enclosure, courtyard boundary, or city rampart. It is a phono-semantic compound: the left radical 土 (tǔ, "earth") indicates the primary construction material, historically rammed earth, while the right component 亘 (gèn, "to span") provides the phonetic cue. Originally referring to earthen walls around estates, government compounds, or celestial enclosures in ancient astronomy, 垣 frequently appears in classical texts and compounds related to ruins, regional borders, or municipal fortifications.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Late Warring States (~250 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这座城垣很古老。

Zhè zuò chéngyuán hěn gǔlǎo.

This city wall is very ancient.

城垣周围有绿树。

Chéngyuán zhōuwéi yǒu lǜ shù.

There are green trees around the city wall.

我们沿着垣墙散步。

Wǒmen yánzhe yuánqiáng sànbù.

We walked along the wall.

垣上的砖块很整齐。

Yuán shàng de zhuānkuài hěn zhěngqí.

The bricks on the wall are very neat.

这座古城垣见证了历史。

Zhè zuò gǔ chéngyuán jiànzhèngle lìshǐ.

This ancient city wall has witnessed history.

工人们正在修复断垣。

Gōngrénmen zhèngzài xiūfù duàn yuán.

Workers are repairing the broken wall.

尽管岁月流逝，垣依然屹立。

Jǐnguǎn suìyuè liúshì, yuán yīrán yìlì.

Despite the passage of time, the wall still stands tall.

在夕阳的余晖中，垣的影子拉得很长。

Zài xīyáng de yúhuī zhōng, yuán de yǐngzi lā de hěn cháng.

In the afterglow of the sunset, the shadow of the wall stretches long.

Related Characters

Component: 亘

Component: 土

垣