元 meaning in English
currency unit (esp. Chinese yuan); (bound form) first; original; primary
Meaning of 元
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- currency unit (esp. Chinese yuan)
- (bound form) first; original; primary
- (bound form) basic; fundamental
- (bound form) constituent; part
- (prefix) meta-
- (math.) argument; variable
- era (of a reign)
- (Tw) (geology) eon
- surname Yuan
- Yuan dynasty (1279–1368)
How to use 元
In daily life 元 (yuán) is the formal word for the Chinese yuan and is used as a measure word after numbers when talking about prices. In speech people often say 块 (kuài) instead, but 元 appears on price tags, receipts and in writing. Example: 这本书三十元。(Zhè běn shū sānshí yuán.) This book costs thirty yuan.
Think of 元 as a person standing up with two lines on top for the head. The head comes first, so 元 means first or original, and it also became the basic unit of money.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 元 with 无 (wú, none), which has a similar shape but the last stroke cuts through the top line differently. Also note 元 is second tone; do not read it as 圆 or 园 in meaning, even though they share the sound yuán.
元 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.
元 yuán · currency unit · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 元.
| 美元 | měiyuán | American dollar; US dollar |
| 单元 | dānyuán | unit (forming an entity); element |
| 公元 | gōngyuán | CE (Common Era); Christian Era |
| 元旦 | Yuándàn | New Year's Day |
| 元素 | yuánsù | element (key component of sth); (chemistry) element |
| 元首 | yuánshǒu | head of state |
| 元老 | yuánlǎo | senior figure; doyen; founding member; veteran |
| 状元 | zhuàngyuan | top scorer in the palace examination (highest rank of the Imperial examination system); se |
| 多元 | duōyuán | poly-; multi- |
| 元宵节 | Yuánxiāo Jié | Lantern Festival, the final event of the Spring Festival 春節|春节, on 15th of first month of |
| 欧元 | ōuyuán | euro (currency) |
| 元帅 | yuánshuài | (military) marshal; commander-in-chief |
Questions about 元
What does 元 mean?
元 (yuán) means "currency unit (esp. Chinese yuan); (bound form) first; original; primary" and is used as a measure word.
How do you write 元?
元 is made of 1 character: 元 (4 strokes). That is 4 strokes in total.
Is 元 an HSK word?
Yes. 元 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 元, 块 and 人民币?
人民币 (Rénmínbì) is the name of China's currency. 元 is its unit in formal or written use, and 块 (kuài) is the casual spoken word for the same unit. So 十元 and 十块 are the same amount.
Why does 元旦 mean New Year's Day?
Here 元 carries its sense of first, and 旦 means dawn or day. Together 元旦 (Yuándàn) is the first day of the year, which in modern China means January 1, not the Lunar New Year.