How to Write 璇 (xuán) — Meaning “Beautiful jade; star”

Imagine a king (王) spinning around (旋) like a twirling star in the night sky. The motion creates a beautiful glow like polished jade. This picture links the two parts: the king's jade and the spinning star.

Write the left radical 王 first (three horizontal strokes then a vertical), then the right part 旋: start with 方, then the horizontal stroke, followed by ㇐, 冫, and 疋. A common mistake is making the right side too narrow or forgetting the small dot inside 方. Keep the left side vertical and the right side balanced.

璇 uses the phonetic component 旋 and means "beautiful jade" or "star," while 瑁 (mào) uses 冒 and refers to a specific ancient jade tablet worn by emperors. 瑄 (xuān) uses 宣 and denotes a large jade ritual object. Visually, the right sides are completely different, and 璇 is more poetic and less common in everyday use.

Today 璇 appears mainly in personal names (often for girls) and in literary or historical terms like 璇玑 (an ancient astronomical instrument) and 璇宫 (jade palace). It carries a refined, elegant aura and is rarely used in casual conversation. Culturally, it evokes the beauty of jade and celestial imagery in classical Chinese poetry.

Common words containing 璇 include: 璇玑 (xuán jī) — Ancient astronomical instrument; 璇宫 (xuán gōng) — Jade palace; magnificent building; 璇闺 (xuán guī) — A lady's elegant room.