燕 meaning and stroke order
Lovebird, swallow
How to write 燕, stroke by stroke
16 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 燕
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- swallow (family Hirundinidae)
- old variant of 宴[yan4]
- variant of 燕[yan4]
How 燕 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A swallow, with its head 廿, wings 北, and tail 灬.
Radical: 灬 (fire), shared by 28 characters on this site.
How to remember 燕
Picture a swallow seen from above: 廿 is its head, 口 is its body, 北 on both sides is its spread wings, and 灬 at the bottom is its forked tail. The whole character is a little bird in flight.
In everyday speech the bird is usually called 燕子 (yànzi), and 燕 also appears in words like 燕麦 (yànmài, oats) and 燕尾服 (yànwěifú, tailcoat). Example: 春天燕子飞回来了。(Chūntiān yànzi fēi huílái le.) In spring the swallows fly back.
Common mistake: Learners often read the bottom 灬 as fire and think the character relates to heat, but here it is the bird's tail. Also note the middle is 北 split around 口, so do not write the left and right parts as separate dots or as 非.
Common words with 燕
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
燕 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 燕
Learning 燕 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 燕
How many strokes are in 燕?
燕 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 燕 mean?
燕 (yàn) means lovebird, swallow. A common word with it is 燕子 (yànzi), meaning "swallow".
How do you pronounce 燕?
燕 is pronounced yàn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 燕?
The radical of 燕 is 灬, which carries the idea of "fire". Dictionaries list 燕 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 燕?
The traditional form of 燕 is 鷰. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 燕 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 燕 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 燕 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 燕 have another pronunciation?
Yes. Read as yān (first tone), it refers to the ancient state of Yan and the area around Beijing, as in 燕京 (Yānjīng). The bird and the related words use yàn (fourth tone).
Why is 燕 related to 宴 (yàn, banquet)?
The dictionary lists 燕 as an old variant of 宴. In older texts you may see 燕 used for feasting or ease, but modern Chinese writes banquet as 宴.