阉 meaning and stroke order
Eunuch; to castrate
How to write 阉, 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.
- 1
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- 11
Meaning of 阉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to castrate
- a castrate
- neuter
How 阉 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Gate.
门 gives the meaning and 奄 hints at the sound.
Radical: 门 (gate), shared by 47 characters on this site.
How to remember 阉
Picture a palace gate 门 (mén) with 奄 (yǎn) tucked inside it. In old palaces, the men who guarded the inner gates were eunuchs, so the gate tells you the meaning and 奄 gives the sound yān.
阉 is mostly used in the word 阉割 (yāngē), which can mean literally to castrate animals or, figuratively, to gut or weaken something such as a text or an idea. Example: 这部电影被阉割了很多内容。(Zhè bù diànyǐng bèi yāngē le hěn duō nèiróng.) This film had a lot of its content cut out.
Common mistake: Learners often read 阉 as yǎn because of its phonetic part 奄 (yǎn), but 阉 is first tone, yān. Also do not confuse it with 淹 (yān, to flood), which has the water radical 氵 instead of the gate 门.
Common words with 阉
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 阉割 | yāngē | to castrate; fig. to emasculate |
Questions about 阉
How many strokes are in 阉?
阉 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 阉 mean?
阉 (yān) means eunuch; to castrate. A common word with it is 阉割 (yāngē), meaning "to castrate; fig. to emasculate".
How do you pronounce 阉?
阉 is pronounced yān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 阉?
The radical of 阉 is 门, which carries the idea of "gate". Dictionaries list 阉 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 阉?
The traditional form of 阉 is 閹. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 阉 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the usual Chinese word for a historical eunuch?
The common word is 太监 (tàijiàn). 宦官 (huànguān) is a more formal or historical term. 阉人 (yānrén) exists but sounds blunt and is less common.
Is 阉 used for neutering pets?
It can be, as in 阉割 for livestock, but for pets people usually say 绝育 (juéyù, to sterilize). 绝育 sounds gentler and is what you will hear at a vet clinic.