How to Write 沿 (yán) — Meaning “Along; to follow”

Imagine water (氵) flowing along a path that looks like a person's head with a mouth (㕣). The three dots on the left are drops of water, and the right side is like a face following the stream.

Write the left radical 氵 first as three separate dots, not connected. Then the right part 㕣: start with the vertical stroke on the left, then the top mouth, then the bottom horizontal stroke. A common mistake is making the right part too wide or confusing it with 氵 again.

沿 means 'along' and has the water radical plus 㕣. 㳄 is an ancient character meaning 'saliva' and looks similar but is rarely used. 汊 means 'branch of a river' and uses the radical 氵 with 叉 (cha), so its meaning focuses on a fork, not following a path.

沿 is common in words like 沿着 (following) and 沿海 (coastal). You see it in travel directions, such as '沿着这条路走' (follow this road), and in geography, like '沿海城市' (coastal city). It emphasizes moving alongside a line or boundary.

Common words containing 沿 include: 沿着 (yán zhe) — Along; following; 沿海 (yán hǎi) — Coastal; along the coast; 沿途 (yán tú) — Along the way; on the way.