運 meaning and stroke order
To run; ship, transport; fortune, luck
How to write 運, stroke by stroke
12 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
- 10
- 11
- 12
Meaning of 運
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to move
- to transport
- to use
- to apply
- fortune
- luck
How 運 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Walk.
辶 gives the meaning and 軍 hints at the sound.
Radical: 辶 (to walk), shared by 131 characters on this site.
How to remember 運
運 is built from 辶 (walk, movement) plus 軍 (jūn, army), which gives the sound. Picture an army on the march to remember that 運 is about moving things from place to place.
運 (simplified 运) appears in words about movement and transport like 運動 (yùndòng, exercise) and 運輸 (yùnshū, transport), and in words about fate like 運氣 (yùnqi, luck) and 命運 (mìngyùn, destiny). Example: 祝你好運。(Zhù nǐ hǎo yùn.) Good luck to you.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 運 with 連 (lián, to connect), since both use 辶 with a vehicle-like part. 運 has 軍, with the cover 冖 on top of 車, while 連 has only 車. Also keep the fourth tone, yùn, not yún.
Common words with 運
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 運動 | yùndòng | to move; to exercise | HSK 2 |
| 幸運 | xìngyùn | fortunate; lucky; good fortune; luck | HSK 3 |
| 命運 | mìngyùn | fate; destiny | HSK 3 |
| 運輸 | yùnshū | to transport; to carry | HSK 3 |
| 運氣 | yùnqi | luck (good or bad) | HSK 4 |
| 運動員 | yùndòngyuán | athlete | HSK 4 |
| 運用 | yùnyòng | to use; to put to use | HSK 4 |
| 運動會 | yùndònghuì | sports competition | HSK 4 |
| 亞運會 | Yàyùnhuì | Asian Games | HSK 4 |
| 好運 | hǎoyùn | good luck | HSK 5 |
| 運行 | yùnxíng | (of celestial bodies etc) to move along one's course; (fig.) to function; to be in operati | HSK 5 |
| 運作 | yùnzuò | to operate; operations | HSK 6 |
| 運送 | yùnsòng | to transport; to carry | HSK 7-9 |
| 運轉 | yùnzhuǎn | to work; to operate | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 運
How many strokes are in 運?
運 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 運 mean?
運 (yùn) means to run; ship, transport; fortune, luck. A common word with it is 运动 (yùndòng), meaning "to move; to exercise".
How do you pronounce 運?
運 is pronounced yùn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 運?
The radical of 運 is 辶, which carries the idea of "to walk". Dictionaries list 運 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 運?
運 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 运, used in mainland China and Singapore.
How did a character for moving come to mean luck?
The given senses list both movement and fortune for 運. A helpful way to link them is to think of luck as how your life moves or turns. In everyday speech, 運氣 (yùnqi) is the most common word for luck.
Is 運氣 always good luck?
No. 運氣 (yùnqi) is neutral and can be good or bad, so people say 運氣好 (yùnqi hǎo, lucky) or 運氣不好 (yùnqi bù hǎo, unlucky). If you want a word that already means fortunate, use 幸運 (xìngyùn).