员 meaning in English
(bound form) person engaged in a certain field of activity; (bound form) member
Meaning of 员
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (bound form) person engaged in a certain field of activity
- (bound form) member
- classifier for military generals
How to use 员
员 (yuán) almost never stands alone. It attaches to the end of a word to name a person by their job or group, like 服务员 (fúwùyuán) waiter or 队员 (duìyuán) team member. Example: 她是一名演员。 (Tā shì yì míng yǎnyuán.) She is an actress.
Look at 员 (yuán) as a mouth 口 on top of a shell-like shape 贝. Picture one mouth to feed and one wage to earn: every staff member is one more mouth on the payroll.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 员 (yuán) with 圆 (yuán, round) and 园 (yuán, garden), which sound the same. If the word is about a person or a member, use 员. If it is about a circle or a park, use 圆 or 园. Another trap is using 员 alone to mean "person". Say 人 (rén) instead.
员 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.
员 yuán · person engaged in a certain field of ac… · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 员.
| 人员 | rényuán | staff; crew |
| 演员 | yǎnyuán | actor; actress; performer |
| 成员 | chéngyuán | member |
| 员工 | yuángōng | staff; personnel; employee |
| 队员 | duìyuán | team member |
| 服务员 | fúwùyuán | waiter; waitress |
| 会员 | huìyuán | member |
| 公务员 | gōngwùyuán | civil servant; public servant |
| 运动员 | yùndòngyuán | athlete |
| 售货员 | shòuhuòyuán | sales clerk; sales associate; retail salesperson |
| 动员 | dòngyuán | to mobilize; mobilization |
| 飞行员 | fēixíngyuán | pilot; aviator |
Questions about 员
What does 员 mean?
员 (yuán) means "(bound form) person engaged in a certain field of activity; (bound form) member" and is used as a suffix.
How do you write 员?
员 is made of 1 character: 员 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 员 an HSK word?
Yes. 员 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 员 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 员 is written 員.
What is the difference between 员 and 家 when naming professions?
员 usually marks a staff role or a member of an organization, such as 售货员 (shòuhuòyuán) salesclerk. 家 (jiā) marks an expert or master in a field, such as 作家 (zuòjiā) writer or 科学家 (kēxuéjiā) scientist.
How do I call a waiter in a restaurant using 员?
You can say 服务员 (fúwùyuán) to get a server's attention, and it is normal and polite in mainland China. Many people now also say 你好 (nǐ hǎo) or 麻烦一下 (máfan yíxià) to sound softer.