How to Write 滦 (luán) — Meaning “Luan (name of a river or county)”

Think of 滦 as "water (氵) flowing through Luan County." The right part 栾 looks like a tree (木) with three branches (the top part is similar to 亦), so you can imagine a river (氵) running beside a distinctive tree. This connects the water radical to the place name Luan.

Write the three dots of 氵 first, keeping them small and evenly spaced. Then write the right part 栾, which has a top section (亦 without the two dots) and a bottom 木 — make sure the horizontal stroke of 木 is slightly lower than the left radical. A common mistake is making the right part too wide or confusing the top of 栾 with 亦.

While 滦 has the right part 栾, 涪 (fú) has 咅 (pǒu) and 涫 (guān) has 官. All three have the water radical and are used in river names, but 滦 refers specifically to the Luan River in Hebei, 涪 refers to the Fu River in Sichuan, and 涫 can mean a river or "to boil." Visually, the right parts are distinct: 栾, 咅, and 官.

Common words containing 滦 include: 滦河 (luán hé) — Luan River; 滦县 (luán xiàn) — Luan County; 滦平 (luán píng) — Luanping (a county in Hebei).