閻 meaning and stroke order
Village gate; surname
How to write 閻, 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 閻
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (literary) the gate of a lane
How 閻 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Gate.
門 gives the meaning and 臽 hints at the sound.
Radical: 門 (gate), shared by 42 characters on this site.
How to remember 閻
閻 is a gate 門 wrapped around 臽, a pit. Picture the gate at the mouth of a lane, and the pit below as a hint at the underworld gate guarded by 阎王 (Yánwang). 門 gives the meaning gate, and 臽 points to the sound.
Today 閻 (simplified 阎) is mostly seen as a surname and in the word 阎王 (Yánwang), the King of Hell. The meaning "gate of a lane" is literary and rarely used in speech. Example: 他的脸色像阎王一样。(Tā de liǎnsè xiàng Yánwang yīyàng.) His face looked as grim as the King of Hell.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 閻 (yán) with 闫 (yán), a different surname with 三 inside the gate. Some people treat them as the same, but many families write only one of them. Also note that in 阎王 the second syllable is usually said in the neutral tone, Yánwang.
Common words with 閻
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 閻王 | Yánwang | (Buddhism) Yama, the King of Hell; (fig.) cruel and tyrannical person | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 閻
How many strokes are in 閻?
閻 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 閻 mean?
閻 (yán) means village gate; surname. A common word with it is 阎王 (Yánwang), meaning "(Buddhism) Yama, the King of Hell; (fig.) cruel and tyrannical person".
How do you pronounce 閻?
閻 is pronounced yán, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 閻?
The radical of 閻 is 門, which carries the idea of "gate". Dictionaries list 閻 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 閻?
閻 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 阎, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 阎 the same surname as 闫?
They are pronounced the same, yán, and are sometimes mixed up, but officially they are separate characters. A person's ID uses one or the other, so always check how the name is actually written.
What does 阎王 mean when people use it about someone?
Figuratively, 阎王 describes a harsh or tyrannical person, like a very strict boss. A related saying is 阎王好见，小鬼难缠 (Yánwang hǎo jiàn, xiǎoguǐ nán chán), meaning the big boss is easier to deal with than his petty underlings.