娟 meaning and stroke order
Beautiful, graceful
How to write 娟, 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.
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- 10
Meaning of 娟
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- beautiful
- graceful
How 娟 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Woman.
女 gives the meaning and 肙 hints at the sound.
Radical: 女 (woman), shared by 156 characters on this site.
How to remember 娟
娟 is built from 女 (nǚ, woman) on the left, which points to the meaning, and 肙 (yuān) on the right, which hints at the sound. Picture a graceful woman whose name sounds like yuān, and you get juān, beautiful.
娟 is rarely used alone in modern Chinese. It appears mostly in literary words like 娟秀 (juānxiù, beautiful and elegant) and very often in girls' given names. Example: 她的字写得很娟秀。(Tā de zì xiě de hěn juānxiù.) Her handwriting is very elegant.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 娟 with 绢 (juān, silk) and 捐 (juān, to donate). All three share the right side 肙 and the same sound, so check the left part: 女 for beauty, 纟 for silk, 扌 for donating.
Questions about 娟
How many strokes are in 娟?
娟 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 娟 mean?
娟 (juān) means beautiful, graceful.
How do you pronounce 娟?
娟 is pronounced juān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 娟?
The radical of 娟 is 女, which carries the idea of "woman". Dictionaries list 娟 under this radical.
Why do so many Chinese women have 娟 in their names?
Because 娟 means beautiful and graceful, parents choose it to express hopes for a daughter's charm and elegance. Names like 小娟 (Xiǎojuān) and 丽娟 (Lìjuān) are very common, especially among women born in the mid to late twentieth century.
Can I use 娟 by itself to say someone is beautiful?
Not usually. In everyday speech people say 漂亮 (piàoliang) or 美 (měi). 娟 sounds literary and mostly appears in set words like 娟秀 or in names.