How to Write 匽 (yǎn) — Meaning “The character '匽' (yǎn).”

Imagine a peaceful scene inside a box: the sun (日) shines on a woman under a roof (安), forming 晏. Now put that entire scene inside the box 匚, and you have 匽. This visual helps you remember both the shape and the pronunciation 'yan'.

Start by writing the outer box 匚: horizontal line, then vertical line, then bottom horizontal line closing the shape. Then write the inner part 晏 from top to bottom: first 日, then 安. A common mistake is making the box too narrow, which forces the inner parts to be squeezed.

The character 匣 has 甲 (armor) inside and means a small box or case, while 匦 has 危 (danger) inside and means a petition box. In contrast, 匽 has 晏 (peace) inside and refers to a hidden pit or latrine in ancient texts. Visually, the inner components are completely different.

匽 is extremely rare in modern Chinese and is mainly found in ancient literature or as a component in other characters like 堰 (yàn, dam). It is not part of the HSK vocabulary, so learners do not need to memorize it for everyday use. You may encounter it when studying classical texts or Chinese character history.

Common words containing 匽 include: 匽字 (yǎn zì) — The character '匽'.; 匽部 (yǎn bù) — The 'Yan' component.; 学匽 (xué yǎn) — Learn the character 'Yan'.