How to Write 闫 (yán) — Meaning “Yan (a surname)”

Imagine a door (门) that has three horizontal lines (三) painted on it, like a house number. This visual of "three lines inside a door" can help you recall that 闫 is pronounced yán and is a surname.

Write the radical 门 first: dot (丶), vertical (丨), then hook (𠃌). Then add three horizontal strokes (一,一,一) inside, all evenly spaced. A common mistake is making the inside strokes too long or touching the door frame, so keep them centered and shorter than the width of 门.

闫 has three horizontal strokes inside 门, while 闩 has only one horizontal stroke (meaning a bolt) and 闪 has 人 (person) inside (meaning flash or dodge). Visually, count the lines: 闫 has three, 闩 has one, and 闪 has a person shape. In usage, 闫 is only a surname, whereas 闩 and 闪 are common words.

闫 is exclusively used as a Chinese surname, pronounced yán. It appears in names like 闫老师 (Teacher Yan) or 闫先生 (Mr. Yan). Culturally, 闫 is a less common variant of the surname 阎, but both are written with the same pronunciation and meaning.

Common words containing 闫 include: 闫老师 (yán lǎo shī) — Teacher Yan; 姓闫 (xìng yán) — Surname Yan; 闫先生 (yán xiān shēng) — Mr. Yan.