How to Write 源 (yuán) — Meaning “Source; origin.”

Imagine a spring of water (氵) bubbling up from the ground at the original spot (原) — that is the source. This visual helps you remember both the water radical and the meaning of origin.

Write the left radical 氵 first with three dots, then the right part 原 from top to bottom. Make sure the right side is slightly wider than the left. A common mistake is to make the 原 component too narrow or to forget the small horizontal stroke inside the 厂 part.

源 (yuán) means 'source' and contains the component 原, while 涪 (fú) is a river name with the phonetic 咅 (póu) and 涫 (guàn) means 'to boil' and uses 官 (guān). Visually, the right sides are completely different, and their meanings have nothing to do with 'origin.'

源 appears in common words like 来源 (lái yuán, 'source'), 资源 (zī yuán, 'resources'), and 水源 (shuǐ yuán, 'water source'). It is often used in formal or technical contexts, such as discussing the origin of information or natural resources, and appears in the idiom 源远流长 (yuán yuǎn liú cháng, 'a long history').

Common words containing 源 include: 来源 (lái yuán) — source; origin; 资源 (zī yuán) — resources; 水源 (shuǐ yuán) — Water source.