How to Write 妍 (yán) — Meaning “Beautiful”

Imagine a beautiful woman (女) who opens (开) a gift box, and her radiant smile reveals her beauty. The action of opening (开) helps you recall the right side of the character. This visual links the two parts to the meaning of beauty.

Write the left radical 女 narrow and slanted, with the last horizontal stroke slightly rising. Then write the right part 开 with two short horizontal strokes, a left-falling stroke, and a vertical stroke, making sure the bottom of 女 aligns with the bottom of 开. A common mistake is making the left 女 too wide or the right 开 too tall, which throws off the balance.

The main difference is the right side: 妍 has 开 (open), 奴 has 又 (right hand), and 奶 has 乃 (a hook shape). Visually, 妍's right side has two horizontal lines, while 奴's is like a cross and 奶's is curved. Meaning-wise, 妍 means beautiful, 奴 means slave, and 奶 means milk or breast.

妍 appears in formal or literary contexts, describing the beauty of women, flowers, or scenery, as in 妍丽 (beautiful and radiant) and 鲜妍 (bright and beautiful). It is also common in female given names to convey elegance. However, it is rarely used in everyday conversation, where words like 漂亮 (piàoliang) are more typical.

Common words containing 妍 include: 妍丽 (yán lì) — Beautiful and radiant; 鲜妍 (xiān yán) — Bright and beautiful; 争妍 (zhēng yán) — to compete in beauty or elegance.