How to Write 颜 (yán) — Meaning “Face; color”

Think of a talented person (彦) who paints their head (页) with bright colors. This image ties the left part (彦) and right part (页) to the meaning 'color' and 'face'. You can also remember that 'yan' sounds like 'yarn' – imagine colorful yarn decorating a face.

Write the left component 彦 first: start with the top dot, then the horizontal and three downward slanted strokes (撇) that should be parallel and evenly spaced. The right part 页 begins with a horizontal, then a short left stroke followed by the vertical and hook – be careful not to make the left side too narrow. A common mistake is to misplace the third slanted stroke of 彦, so keep it balanced.

颜 (yán) has the left part 彦 (a person of virtue), while 颐 (yí) has the left part 臣 (minister) and means 'chin' or 'to nourish'. 频 (pín) has the left part 步 (step) and means 'frequency'. Visually, 颜's left side has a dot on top and several slanted strokes, whereas 颐's left side has a vertical box-like shape, and 频's left side has a '止' on top and '少' below.

颜 appears in common words like 颜色 (yán sè, color), 颜料 (yán liào, paint), and 容颜 (róng yán, facial appearance). It is used in everyday speech when talking about colors or someone's face. Culturally, the surname 颜 is famous because of the Tang dynasty calligrapher 颜真卿, whose writing style is still studied today.

Common words containing 颜 include: 颜色 (yán sè) — Color; 颜料 (yán liào) — Paint; pigment; 容颜 (róng yán) — Facial features / Appearance.