How to Write 郾 (yǎn) — Meaning “Yan (used in place names)”

Picture a "Yan" city with a giant sun (日) above a woman (女) — the right side 匽 looks a bit like a sun over a woman. Then remember the left ear radical 阝 means a place, so "place with sun and woman" helps recall 郾 (yǎn) as a city name.

Write the left radical 阝 first as two strokes: a hook (横撇弯钩) and a vertical line. Then write the right side 匽 with 8 strokes: start with the horizontal stroke at top, then the sun (日) and bottom woman (女). Make sure the left radical is narrow and the right side is wider, keeping balance.

郾 (yǎn) uses the right part 匽, while 郗 (xī) uses 希 (xī) and 郛 (fú) uses 孚 (fú). All have the place radical 阝, but the right components differ in shape and pronunciation. Visually, 郾 has a sun (日) and woman (女) on the right, whereas 郗 has 希 (with a cloth radical) and 郛 has 孚 (with a child radical).

郾 is almost exclusively used in place names, such as 郾城 (Yǎnchéng) in Henan province and 郾城区 (Yǎnchéng Qū) as a district. It also appears in historical names like 郾子 (Yǎn Zǐ). It is not common in daily vocabulary and is not part of HSK, so you mainly encounter it in geography or history contexts.

Common words containing 郾 include: 郾城 (yǎn chéng) — Yancheng (a place name); 郾城区 (yǎn chéng qū) — Yancheng District; 郾子 (yǎn zi) — Yanzi (a historical figure).