About
The character "苑" is formed by the grass radical positioned above the phonetic component "夗", a structure that initially denoted an enclosed area for cultivating plants or rearing animals, often specifically referring to imperial parks or hunting grounds reserved for nobility. Its early semantics centered on these managed landscapes, but over time the term expanded to describe various kinds of gardens or landscaped estates, and later it was adopted into compound words naming institutions or collections, reflecting a broader application beyond its original royal connotations. This shift from a specific referent to a more generalized one occurred while the character's composition remained unchanged, maintaining its pictophonetic nature throughout its historical use.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
御苑很美丽。
昨天我们去了鹿苑。
文苑里有很多好书。
这个小区叫做紫竹苑。
皇帝常在御苑中散步。
苑囿里饲养着各种动物。
他在文苑中发表了新作品。
尽管禁苑不对公众开放，但它的历史价值很高。