婉 meaning and stroke order
Amiable, graceful, tactful; restrained
How to write 婉, stroke by stroke
11 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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- 11
Meaning of 婉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- graceful
- tactful
How 婉 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Woman.
女 gives the meaning and 宛 hints at the sound.
Radical: 女 (woman), shared by 156 characters on this site.
How to remember 婉
婉 is a woman 女 (nǚ) on the left with 宛 (wǎn) on the right giving the sound. Picture a woman speaking in a soft, graceful way, and you have the idea of gentle and tactful.
婉 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It appears in words about speaking or acting gently and indirectly, most often 委婉 (wěiwǎn). Example: 她委婉地拒绝了我。(Tā wěiwǎn de jùjué le wǒ.) She turned me down tactfully.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 婉 with 碗 (wǎn, bowl) and 腕 (wàn, wrist), since all three share 宛. Check the left side: 女 for graceful, 石 for bowl, 月 for wrist, and note that 腕 is fourth tone.
Common words with 婉
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 委婉 | wěiwǎn | tactful; euphemistic | HSK 7-9 |
婉 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 婉
How many strokes are in 婉?
婉 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 婉 mean?
婉 (wǎn) means amiable, graceful, tactful; restrained. A common word with it is 委婉 (wěiwǎn), meaning "tactful; euphemistic".
How do you pronounce 婉?
婉 is pronounced wǎn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 婉?
The radical of 婉 is 女, which carries the idea of "woman". Dictionaries list 婉 under this radical.
Is 婉 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 婉 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What other common words use 婉?
You will see 婉拒 (wǎnjù), to politely decline, and 婉言 (wǎnyán), tactful words. 婉 also shows up in names, especially women's names, because it suggests gentleness.
Is 委婉 a compliment or a criticism?
It is usually neutral or positive, describing a polite, indirect way of saying something. In linguistics, 委婉语 (wěiwǎnyǔ) is the term for a euphemism.