员 meaning and stroke order
(bound form) person engaged in a certain field of activity; (bound form) member; classifier for military generals
How to write 员, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 员
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) person engaged in a certain field of activity
- (bound form) member
- classifier for military generals
How 员 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Money.
贝 gives the meaning.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 员
Picture a mouth 口 on top of money 贝. A staff member is someone who works for pay, so the shell of money 贝 sits under the mouth they need to feed.
员 (yuán) almost never stands alone. It attaches to a field or group to mean a person in that role, as in 演员 (yǎnyuán) actor, 服务员 (fúwùyuán) waiter, and 会员 (huìyuán) member. Example: 他是我们公司的员工。(Tā shì wǒmen gōngsī de yuángōng.) He is an employee of our company.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 员 (yuán) with 圆 (yuán, round), which puts 员 inside an enclosing box 囗. They sound identical, so check the shape: a person is 员, a circle is 圆.
Common words with 员
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 人员 | rényuán | staff; crew | HSK 3 |
| 演员 | yǎnyuán | actor; actress; performer | HSK 3 |
| 成员 | chéngyuán | member | HSK 3 |
| 员工 | yuángōng | staff; personnel; employee | HSK 3 |
| 队员 | duìyuán | team member | HSK 3 |
| 服务员 | fúwùyuán | waiter; waitress | HSK 3 |
| 会员 | huìyuán | member | HSK 3 |
| 公务员 | gōngwùyuán | civil servant; public servant | HSK 3 |
| 运动员 | yùndòngyuán | athlete | HSK 4 |
| 售货员 | shòuhuòyuán | sales clerk; sales associate; retail salesperson | HSK 4 |
| 动员 | dòngyuán | to mobilize; mobilization | HSK 5 |
| 飞行员 | fēixíngyuán | pilot; aviator | HSK 6 |
| 球员 | qiúyuán | (ball sports) player; team member | HSK 6 |
| 船员 | chuányuán | sailor; crew member | HSK 6 |
员 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 员
Learning 员 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 员
How many strokes are in 员?
员 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 员 mean?
员 (yuán) means (bound form) person engaged in a certain field of activity; (bound form) member; classifier for military generals. A common word with it is 人员 (rényuán), meaning "staff; crew".
How do you pronounce 员?
员 is pronounced yuán, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 员?
The radical of 员 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 员 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 员?
The traditional form of 员 is 員. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 员 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 员 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 员 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What is the difference between 人员 and 员工?
员工 (yuángōng) means the employees of a company or organization. 人员 (rényuán) is broader and more formal. It means personnel in some role, such as 工作人员 (gōngzuò rényuán) staff on duty or 医务人员 (yīwù rényuán) medical personnel.
Can 员 be used as a measure word?
Yes, but only in a narrow, literary way. It counts military generals, as in 一员大将 (yì yuán dàjiàng) a great general. In everyday speech you would use 个 or 位 for people.