CANTONESE ↔ ENGLISH · CC-CANTO

元

Cantonese · source Jyutpingjyun4

unit of money (in PRC: Chinese yuan, in USA: dollar, etc)
primary
the first
origin
head
eldest
the Yuan Dynasty
a surname

About these definitions

Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.

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Reading & tones

jyun44 · low falling

Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.

Same syllable, six tones

jyun冤jyun1injustice 院jyun2courtyard 怨jyun3to blame 员jyun4person 远jyun5far 县jyun6county

Characters whose customary Unihan reading (kCantonese) is this syllable in each tone, chosen as in the tone atlas (2013 standard level, then the number of CC-CEDICT words they form), with CC-Canto 2017's meaning for that reading; a dash means no catalogue character has that reading. Checked syllables (-p, -t, -k) normally carry tones 1, 3 and 6. Character readings, not word readings; no frequency implied.

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Written characters

元

Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.

Cantonese characters and the Mandarin bridge ↗

Mandarin comparison · separate source entries

CC-CEDICT, the Mandarin–English dictionary, lists the same written form:

元 Yuán CC-CEDICT · Mandarinsurname Yuan; Yuan dynasty (1279–1368)
元 yuán CC-CEDICT · Mandarincurrency 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

A separate source entry, shown for comparison. The same characters can carry different senses in Mandarin and in Cantonese; zimai does not align these senses.

CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: yuan2. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.

Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗

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)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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