媛

yuán, yuàn

女 + 爰

Definitions

yuán used in 嬋媛|婵媛[chán yuán]

yuàn (bound form) beautiful woman (in practice, often pronounced [yuán]); Taiwan pr. [yuán]

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 女 represents the meaning and 爰 represents the sound.

Semantic: 女 Phonetic: 爰

About

媛 is a phono-semantic compound: the semantic radical 女 (woman) on the left points to the meaning, while the component 爰 (yuán, historically a conjunction or verb meaning 'to lead on') on the right indicates the pronunciation. The character is an elegant term for a beautiful, graceful, or talented woman, often implying high social standing, and is used in literary or honorific contexts. It is best known from the word 名媛 (míngyuàn), 'famous socialite', which underscores the connotations of feminine grace and status.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我的妹妹叫媛媛。

Wǒ de mèimei jiào Yuányuan.

My younger sister is called Yuanyuan.

媛媛今天很开心。

Yuányuan jīntiān hěn kāixīn.

Yuanyuan is very happy today.

她是一位名媛。

Tā shì yī wèi míngyuàn.

She is a socialite.

王媛是我的好朋友。

Wáng Yuán shì wǒ de hǎo péngyou.

Wang Yuan is my good friend.

媛媛喜欢去公园散步。

Yuányuan xǐhuān qù gōngyuán sànbù.

Yuanyuan likes to go to the park for a walk.

这位名媛非常优雅。

Zhè wèi míngyuàn fēi cháng yōuyǎ.

This socialite is very elegant.

媛媛昨天买了一件新衣服。

Yuányuan zuótiān mǎi le yī jiàn xīn yīfu.

Yuanyuan bought a new piece of clothing yesterday.

媛媛虽然年轻，但已经是一位成功的名媛。

Yuányuan suīrán niánqīng, dàn yǐjīng shì yī wèi chénggōng de míngyuàn.

Although Yuanyuan is young, she is already a successful socialite.

Related Characters

Component: 女

Component: 爰

媛