How to Write 沅 (yuán) — Meaning “Yuan (name of a river)”

Imagine a river (氵) that flows from a round origin (元 looks like a circle or a coin). You can also think "Yuan" sounds like "you and" the river—so "you and the Yuan River." This links the shape and pronunciation.

Write the three dots of 氵 first (left to right), then the top two horizontal strokes of 元, followed by the left-falling stroke, and finally the curved hook. A common mistake is making the last stroke of 元 too straight—it should curve like a hook. Keep the three dots aligned and not too spread apart.

沅 has 元 on the right, 㳄 has 欠 (meaning "lack" or related to saliva), and 氿 has 九 (meaning nine). Visually, 元 looks like a hat with two horizontal lines and a hook, while 欠 is like a person bending down. Their meanings are also different: 沅 is a river name, 㳄 means saliva, and 氿 means a spring.

沅 appears mainly in proper names like 沅江 (Yuan River) and 沅陵 (a county in Hunan). It is not part of common vocabulary or HSK lists. Culturally, the Yuan River is famous in Chinese history and poetry, often symbolizing natural beauty and remote landscapes.

Common words containing 沅 include: 沅江 (yuán jiāng) — Yuan River; 沅水 (yuán shuǐ) — Yuan River; 沅陵 (yuán líng) — Yuanling (a place name).