DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
元
Mandarin · pinyin yuán#
Meanings · yuán
- currency unit (esp. Chinese yuan)
- (bound form) first; original; primary
- (bound form) basic; fundamental
- (bound form) constituent; part
- (prefix) meta-
- (math.) argument; variable
- era (of a reign)
- (Tw) (geology) eon
Mandarin · pinyin Yuán#
Meanings · Yuán
- surname Yuan
- Yuan dynasty (1279–1368)
Characters in this entry
- 元
- yuán · first; dollar; origin; head
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
2 · yuan2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link65same-tone records
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 20 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
jyun4
Cantonese word readings for 元. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character · Etymology 1
- first; initial; primary; beginning
- chief; principal; leading
- basic; fundamental
- (～朝) Yuan Dynasty
- meta-
- unit; component; part
- essential factor; (key) element
- (mathematics) variable; argument; unknown; element
- (alt. form 圓／圆) coin of fixed value and weight
- (alt. form 圓／圆) Classifier for yuan or dollars.
- (alt. form 圓／圆) a surname
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) head
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) large; big
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) good; virtuous; kind
- (Hong Kong) short for 元朗 (Yuánlǎng, “Yuen Long”)
- (Taiwan, geology) eon (geochronologic unit)
- (～日) (telegraphy) the thirteenth day of a month
- (Taoism) kalpa; a cosmic or supreme cycle of 129,000 years
- (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 原 (yuán, “origin; source”)
- (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 玄 (xuán) (contained in the name of 玄燁)
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