Meaning of 于
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to go
- to take
- sentence-final interrogative particle
- variant of 於|于[yu2]
- surname Yu
- (of time or place) in; at; on
- (indicating any indirect relation) to; toward; vis-à-vis; with regard to; for
- (indicating a source) from; out of
- (used in comparison) than
- (used in the passive voice) by
How to use 于
于 is a formal, written preposition meaning in, at, to, from, or than. In everyday speech it mostly lives inside common words like 终于 (zhōngyú), 关于 (guānyú), and 由于 (yóuyú). Example: 他生于北京。(Tā shēng yú Běijīng.) He was born in Beijing.
于 (yú) looks like 干 (gàn) with a little hook at the bottom of the vertical stroke. Picture that hook as an arrow bending toward a place or person, since 于 points to where, when, or to whom something happens.
Common mistake: Learners often write 于 as 干 (gàn) or 千 (qiān). 于 has a hooked vertical stroke and two flat horizontals, 干 has a straight vertical, and 千 starts with a slanted top stroke. Another trap is using 于 alone in casual speech where 在 (zài) or 对 (duì) sounds more natural.
于 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
于 yú · to go · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 于.
| 等于 | děngyú | to equal; to be tantamount to |
| 终于 | zhōngyú | at last; in the end |
| 属于 | shǔyú | to belong to; to fall under (a category) |
| 由于 | yóuyú | due to; as a result of |
| 关于 | guānyú | pertaining to; concerning |
| 对于 | duìyú | regarding; as far as (sth) is concerned; with regard to |
| 于是 | yúshì | thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence |
| 处于 | chǔyú | to be in (some state, position, or condition) |
| 在于 | zàiyú | to rest with; to lie in; to be due to (a certain attribute); (of a matter) to be determine |
| 位于 | wèiyú | to be located at; to be situated at |
| 善于 | shànyú | to be good at; to be adept at |
| 用于 | yòngyú | to use in; to use on; to use for |
Questions about 于
What does 于 mean?
于 (yú) means "to go; to take" and is used as a preposition.
How do you write 于?
于 is made of 1 character: 于 (3 strokes). That is 3 strokes in total.
Is 于 an HSK word?
Yes. 于 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 于 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 于 is written 于|於.
What is the difference between 于 and 在?
Both can mean in or at, but 在 (zài) is the everyday spoken choice and usually comes before the verb. 于 is more formal and often comes after the verb, as in 位于 (wèiyú), to be located in.
How is 于 used to mean than in comparisons?
In formal writing, 于 can follow an adjective to mean more than, as in 大于 (dàyú), greater than, or 小于 (xiǎoyú), less than. You see this often in math and written reports, while speech usually uses 比 (bǐ).