How to Write 媛 (yuán/yuàn) — Meaning “A beautiful woman; a lady.”

Imagine a woman (女) standing by a garden wall (爰 looks like a wall with vines) — she is a beautiful lady in a garden. Another trick: think of "yuan" like "you-an" — "you and a beautiful woman."

The left radical 女 is narrow, and its second stroke (the horizontal) should be short to leave room for the right side. The right part 爰 has four strokes in the top — pay attention to the order: left-falling, right-falling, then the two short horizontal strokes before the final longer horizontal. A common mistake is making the top of 爰 too wide.

媛 specifically means a beautiful woman or lady, often used in formal terms like 名媛 (socialite). 姬 (jī) historically referred to a concubine or a royal lady, but in modern Chinese it is rare except in names or historical texts. 娉 (pīng) describes graceful movement (as in 娉婷) and is not used alone to mean a woman.

媛 is most commonly seen in the word 名媛 (míngyuàn), meaning a socialite or a famous lady, often from wealthy or influential families. It appears in literary or formal contexts rather than daily speech. The character carries a classical and elegant feel, so it is sometimes chosen for girls' names.

Common words containing 媛 include: 名媛 (míng yuàn) — Socialite; 媛女 (yuàn nǚ) — A beautiful woman.; 婵媛 (chán yuán) — Graceful and beautiful..