冤 meaning and stroke order
Injustice; grievance; wrong
How to write 冤, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Meaning of 冤
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- injustice
- grievance
- wrong
- old variant of 冤[yuan1]
How 冤 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 冖 (cover), shared by 14 characters on this site.
How to remember 冤
冤 is a rabbit 兔 (tù) trapped under a cover 冖. The poor rabbit did nothing wrong but is stuck anyway, which is a picture of injustice.
冤 shows up mostly in words about being wronged, such as 冤枉 (yuānwang, to treat unjustly) and 冤案 (yuān'àn, a miscarriage of justice). In everyday speech people often complain they were blamed unfairly with 冤枉. Example: 你冤枉我了。(Nǐ yuānwang wǒ le.) You have wronged me.
Common mistake: Learners often write the bottom as 免 (miǎn) and forget the final dot of 兔, but 冤 keeps the full rabbit 兔 with its dot. Also note that in 冤枉 the second syllable is usually said in the neutral tone, yuānwang.
Common words with 冤
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 冤枉 | yuānwang | to accuse wrongly; to treat unjustly | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 冤
How many strokes are in 冤?
冤 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 冤 mean?
冤 (yuān) means injustice; grievance; wrong. A common word with it is 冤枉 (yuānwang), meaning "to accuse wrongly; to treat unjustly".
How do you pronounce 冤?
冤 is pronounced yuān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 冤?
The radical of 冤 is 冖, which carries the idea of "cover". Dictionaries list 冤 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 冤?
The traditional form of 冤 is 寃. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 冤 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 冤 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 冤 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 冤家 mean?
冤家 (yuānjia) literally means an enemy or foe. In casual or romantic speech it is also a teasing word for someone you love who drives you crazy.
What does 冤大头 mean?
冤大头 (yuāndàtóu) is a colloquial word for a sucker, someone who pays too much or gets taken advantage of. For example, 我不想当冤大头 means I do not want to be the sucker.