How to Write 瑗 (yuàn) — Meaning “Yuan (a large jade ring).”

Picture the left side 王 as a king wearing a big jade ring, and the right side 爰 looks like two hands holding up a large circle. Imagine a royal ceremony where the king displays a huge jade ring. The shape of 爰 even suggests the roundness of the ring itself.

Write the left radical 王 (three horizontal strokes, then a vertical stroke) first, then the right part 爰. A common mistake is to make the right part too narrow or forget the short stroke inside the top two horizontal lines of 爰. Pay attention to the bottom of 爰: it ends with a sweeping stroke (捺) that should extend slightly beyond the top.

瑗 specifically means a large jade ring, while 球 means a ball or sphere (often rubber or metal) and 琅 refers to a type of beautiful gemstone (like in 琅玕). Visually, 瑗 has the right side 爰, 球 has 求 (qiu) on the right, and 琅 has 良 (liang) on the right. Their meanings and usages are completely different — 瑗 is a very rare character, while 球 and 琅 are common in modern Chinese.

瑗 is extremely rare in modern Chinese and mostly appears in ancient texts or historical contexts about jade artifacts. You may encounter it in museum descriptions of ancient Chinese jade rings (璧 or 瑗) used in rituals. It is not used in daily conversation, and the common word 瑗玉 refers to fine jade, but even that is uncommon.

Common words containing 瑗 include: 瑗玉 (yuàn yù) — Yuanyu (fine jade).; 瑗瑗 (yuàn yuàn) — Yuanyuan (a common nickname).; 璧瑗 (bì yuàn) — jade disks.