院 meaning and stroke order
Courtyard; institution
How to write 院, stroke by stroke
9 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
Meaning of 院
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- courtyard
- institution
How 院 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Place.
阝 gives the meaning and 完 hints at the sound.
Radical: 阝 (place), shared by 160 characters on this site.
How to remember 院
院 is pictophonetic: 阝 on the left marks a place, and 完 (wán) on the right hints at the sound. Picture a complete (完) walled place (阝), like a finished courtyard or a building that serves as an institution.
院 rarely stands alone in modern speech. It usually ends words for institutions or enclosed spaces, such as 医院 (yīyuàn) hospital, 法院 (fǎyuàn) court of law, and 电影院 (diànyǐngyuàn) cinema. Example: 我妈妈在医院工作。(Wǒ māma zài yīyuàn gōngzuò.) My mom works at a hospital.
Common mistake: Learners often misread 院 as wán because of the phonetic part 完, but 院 is yuàn with a fourth tone. Also do not confuse it with 完 (wán, to finish) itself, which lacks the 阝 on the left.
Common words with 院
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 医院 | yīyuàn | hospital | HSK 1 |
| 学院 | xuéyuàn | college; educational institute | HSK 1 |
| 电影院 | diànyǐngyuàn | cinema; movie theater | HSK 1 |
| 院子 | yuànzi | courtyard; garden | HSK 2 |
| 出院 | chūyuàn | to leave hospital; to be discharged from hospital | HSK 2 |
| 院长 | yuànzhǎng | the head of an institution whose name ends in 院[yuan4]; chair of a board; university presi | HSK 2 |
| 住院 | zhùyuàn | to stay in hospital; to be hospitalized | HSK 2 |
| 法院 | fǎyuàn | court of law; court | HSK 4 |
| 剧院 | jùyuàn | theater | HSK 7-9 |
| 养老院 | yǎnglǎoyuàn | nursing home | HSK 7-9 |
| 院士 | yuànshì | member of a national academy | HSK 7-9 |
| 四合院 | sìhéyuàn | courtyard house with a fully enclosed courtyard (type of Chinese residence) | HSK 7-9 |
| 修道院 | xiūdàoyuàn | monastery; convent | |
| 精神病院 | jīngshénbìngyuàn | mental hospital; psychiatric hospital |
院 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 院
How many strokes are in 院?
院 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 院 mean?
院 (yuàn) means courtyard; institution. A common word with it is 医院 (yīyuàn), meaning "hospital".
How do you pronounce 院?
院 is pronounced yuàn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 院?
The radical of 院 is 阝, which carries the idea of "place". Dictionaries list 院 under this radical.
Is 院 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 院 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
What is the difference between 住院 and 出院?
住院 (zhùyuàn) means to be admitted to and stay in a hospital. 出院 (chūyuàn) means to be discharged and leave the hospital. Both use 院 as a short form of 医院.
Is 学院 the same as 大学?
Not exactly. 大学 (dàxué) is a university, while 学院 (xuéyuàn) is a college, either a smaller independent school or a faculty within a university. The head of a 学院 is called the 院长 (yuànzhǎng).