Meaning
courtyard; institution
Chinese: 院子、机构或学院。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “yuan” becomes a different word in each tone. 院 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 医院yī yuànhospital
- 学院xué yuàncollege; educational institute; school; faculty
- 电影院diàn yǐng yuàncinema; movie theater
- 住院zhù yuànto stay in hospital; to be hospitalized
- 院长yuàn zhǎngthe head of an institution whose name ends in 院; chair of a board; university president; college dean
Example Sentence
我们家有一个小院子。Wǒ men jiā yǒu yí ge xiǎo yuàn zi.Our home has a small courtyard.
我们Wǒ menwe家jiāhome有yǒuto have一个yí gea小xiǎosmall院子yuàn zicourtyard。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
The mound/wall radical 阝 (meaning) plus 完 (yuán, sound): a space enclosed by walls — a ‘courtyard / yard’, and by extension an institution (医院, 学院).
A way to remember it
Walls (阝) enclosing a space — a courtyard.
Easy to confuse with
- 完‘Complete’: the right-hand sound part of 院, on its own.