陨 meaning and stroke order
To slip, to fall; to drop; to die
How to write 陨, 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.
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Meaning of 陨
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) to fall from the sky
- variant of 殞|殒[yun3]
How 陨 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Place.
阝 gives the meaning and 员 hints at the sound.
Radical: 阝 (place), shared by 160 characters on this site.
How to remember 陨
陨 is built from 阝, the mound or place side, plus 员 (yuán), which gives the sound. Picture something falling out of the sky and landing on a hill, and you have 陨, to fall.
陨 is a bound form, so you almost always see it inside words like 陨石 (yǔnshí, meteorite) and 陨落 (yǔnluò, to fall down). 陨落 is also used figuratively for a great person dying or a star fading. Example: 昨晚有一颗陨石落在山里。(Zuówǎn yǒu yī kē yǔnshí luò zài shān lǐ.) A meteorite fell in the mountains last night.
Common mistake: Learners often read 陨 as yuán because of its sound part 员, but the correct reading is yǔn with a third tone. It is also easy to confuse with 殒 (yǔn), which uses 歹 and is the form used for dying in words like 殒命 (yǔnmìng).
Common words with 陨
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 陨石 | yǔnshí | meteorite; aerolite | HSK 7-9 |
| 陨落 | yǔnluò | to fall down; to decay |
Questions about 陨
How many strokes are in 陨?
陨 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 陨 mean?
陨 (yǔn) means to slip, to fall; to drop; to die. A common word with it is 陨石 (yǔnshí), meaning "meteorite; aerolite".
How do you pronounce 陨?
陨 is pronounced yǔn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 陨?
The radical of 陨 is 阝, which carries the idea of "place". Dictionaries list 陨 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 陨?
The traditional form of 陨 is 隕. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 陨 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 陨 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 陨 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 陨石 and 流星?
流星 (liúxīng) is a meteor, the streak of light you see in the sky. 陨石 (yǔnshí) is the rock that actually survives and lands on the ground.
Can 陨落 be used about people?
Yes. In formal or literary writing, 陨落 can describe the death of a famous or admired person, like a star falling. In everyday speech people would just say 去世 (qùshì).