How to Write 沇 (yǎn) — Meaning “Yan (name of an ancient river)”

Imagine a water drop (氵) saying "yes" to flow forward—允 sounds like "yep" in English. So 沇 means a river that "yes, goes with the flow". This helps connect the sound and meaning.

Make sure the water radical on the left is written with three dots, not two, and stays narrow. The right part 允 starts with a short slash (撇) then a hook (横折钩), and ends with a curved stroke (竖弯钩) that pokes out to the right. Keep the overall width balanced—don't stretch the right part too wide.

沇 has the water radical plus 允, while 㳄 (yǎn or xián) has water plus 欠 (to owe), meaning saliva or flowing liquid. 氿 (guǐ) has water plus 九, meaning a spring that seeps out. Visually, 沇's right part looks like a person nodding, 㳄's right part has a mouth open, and 氿's has the number nine.

沇 is almost never used in modern daily Chinese—it only appears in ancient history and geography texts as the name of the Yan River. You might encounter it in classical literature or when studying old river systems. It is not in the HSK vocabulary and is mainly a scholarly interest.

Common words containing 沇 include: 沇水 (yǎn shuǐ) — the Yan River; 沇沇 (yǎn yǎn) — flowing smoothly; 济沇 (jì yǎn) — Jiyan (an ancient river name).