卷 meaning in English
to roll up; (fig.) to sweep up; to engulf; to drag into (a situation)
Meaning of 卷
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to roll up
- (fig.) to sweep up; to engulf; to drag into (a situation)
- (slang) to compete to an unhealthy degree; hypercompetitive
- a roll
- classifier for small rolled-up things (wad of paper money, movie reel etc)
- to roll up
- to sweep up; to carry along
- a roll
- classifier for rolls, spools etc
- scroll
- book
- volume
- chapter
- examination paper
- classifier for books, paintings: volume, scroll
How to use 卷
As a verb, 卷 (juǎn) means to roll up or to sweep something along, as in 卷入 (juǎnrù, to get drawn into). Read as juàn, it means a scroll, volume or exam paper, as in 试卷 (shìjuàn). Example: 他把地图卷起来了。 (Tā bǎ dìtú juǎn qǐlái le.) He rolled up the map.
The bottom of 卷 looks like 㔾, a person bent over and curled up. Picture someone curling into a ball, the way you roll up a mat or a scroll.
Common mistake: Learners often use the third tone everywhere. Rolling and sweeping are juǎn, but scrolls, volumes and papers are juàn, so 试卷 is shìjuàn and 问卷 is wènjuàn. Also do not confuse 卷 with 券 (quàn, ticket), which has 刀 at the bottom instead of 㔾.
卷 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.
卷 juǎn · to roll up · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 卷.
| 试卷 | shìjuàn | examination paper; test paper |
| 卷入 | juǎnrù | to be drawn into; to be involved in |
| 卷子 | juànzi | steamed roll; spring roll |
| 问卷 | wènjuàn | questionnaire |
| 龙卷风 | lóngjuǎnfēng | tornado; hurricane |
| 胶卷 | jiāojuǎn | roll of film |
| 卷心菜 | juǎnxīncài | cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) (CL:棵[ke1]) |
| 卷饼 | juǎnbǐng | rolled-up pastry; roll |
| 卷发 | juǎnfà | curly hair; to curl hair |
| 卷轴 | juànzhóu | scroll (book or painting) |
| 席卷 | xíjuǎn | to engulf; to sweep |
| 卷起 | juǎnqǐ | to roll up; to curl up |
Questions about 卷
What does 卷 mean?
卷 (juǎn) means "to roll up; (fig.) to sweep up; to engulf; to drag into (a situation)" and is used as a verb and measure word.
How do you write 卷?
卷 is made of 1 character: 卷 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 卷 an HSK word?
Yes. 卷 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 卷 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 卷 is written 卷|捲.
What does 卷 mean in modern slang?
Young people use 卷 (juǎn) to describe hypercompetition, where everyone works harder and harder for little gain. You might hear 太卷了 (tài juǎn le), meaning things are way too competitive.
Is 卷子 a food or a test paper?
It can be both. In everyday speech 卷子 (juànzi) often means an exam paper, and it can also refer to a rolled food like a steamed roll. Context usually makes the meaning clear.