垣 meaning and stroke order
Low wall
How to write 垣, stroke by stroke
9 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
Meaning of 垣
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- wall
How 垣 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Earth.
土 gives the meaning and 亘 hints at the sound.
Radical: 土 (soil), shared by 183 characters on this site.
How to remember 垣
垣 is built from 土 (tǔ, earth) on the left, which gives the meaning, and 亘 (gèn) on the right, which hints at the sound. Picture a long line of packed earth stretching across the land, forming a low wall.
垣 (yuán) is a literary word for a low wall, often an earthen or courtyard wall. You rarely use it alone in speech. It appears in set phrases and written Chinese, such as 断壁残垣 (duàn bì cán yuán), "broken walls and ruined ruins," which describes a place in ruins.
Common mistake: Learners often read 垣 as gèn because of its right side 亘. The correct reading is yuán, with a second tone. Also do not confuse it with 恒 (héng, constant), which has the same right side but the heart radical 忄 on the left.
Questions about 垣
How many strokes are in 垣?
垣 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 垣 mean?
垣 (yuán) means low wall.
How do you pronounce 垣?
垣 is pronounced yuán, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 垣?
The radical of 垣 is 土, which carries the idea of "soil". Dictionaries list 垣 under this radical.
What is the difference between 垣 and 墙?
墙 (qiáng) is the everyday word for any wall and is what you say in conversation. 垣 (yuán) is literary and usually means a low wall around a yard or town. It mostly shows up in idioms, poetry, and names.
Is 垣 used in any names or place names?
Yes. 垣 appears in Chinese place names, for example 垣曲 (Yuánqǔ), a county in Shanxi province. It can also be used in personal names, where it is read yuán.