苑

yuàn

夗 + 艹

Definitions

yuàn surname Yuan

yuàn (literary) enclosed area for growing trees, keeping animals etc; imperial garden; park; (literary) center (of arts, literature etc)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 夗 represents the sound.

Semantic: 艹 Phonetic: 夗

About

苑 (yuàn) is a phono-semantic compound, combining the grass radical 艹 (cǎo) at the top, linking it to plants and cultivated landscapes, with the sound component 夗 (yuàn) below. Its earliest meaning refers to enclosed imperial parks, royal hunting grounds, and lush gardens where aristocrats raised exotic animals. Over time, the sense expanded beyond physical enclosures to designate prestigious centers of learning, art, and culture, appearing in words for flourishing academic or artistic communities.

Etymology Hide

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

御苑很美丽。

Yùyuàn hěn měilì.

The imperial garden is very beautiful.

昨天我们去了鹿苑。

Zuótiān wǒmen qùle lùyuàn.

Yesterday we went to the deer park.

文苑里有很多好书。

Wényuàn lǐ yǒu hěnduō hǎo shū.

There are many good books in the literary world.

这个小区叫做紫竹苑。

Zhège xiǎoqū jiàozuò Zǐzhú Yuàn.

This residential area is called Zizhu Yuan.

皇帝常在御苑中散步。

Huángdì cháng zài yùyuàn zhōng sànbù.

The emperor often strolls in the imperial garden.

苑囿里饲养着各种动物。

Yuànyòu lǐ sìyǎngzhe gèzhǒng dòngwù.

Various animals are raised in the enclosed park.

他在文苑中发表了新作品。

Tā zài wényuàn zhōng fābiǎole xīn zuòpǐn.

He published a new work in the literary world.

尽管禁苑不对公众开放，但它的历史价值很高。

Jǐnguǎn jìnyuàn bù duì gōngzhòng kāifàng, dàn tā de lìshǐ jiàzhí hěn gāo.

Although the forbidden garden is not open to the public, its historical value is very high.

Related Characters

Component: 夗

Component: 艹

苑