圈 meaning in English

quān

circle; ring; loop; (fig.) social circle; niche group; community; fandom

HSK 4nounverb11 strokes

Meaning of 圈

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

quān

circle; ring; loop
(fig.) social circle; niche group; community; fandom
classifier for loops, orbits, laps
to surround; to encircle
to circle (sth); to mark with a circle

juān

to confine
to lock up
to pen in

juàn

livestock enclosure; pen; fold; sty

How to use 圈

圈 (quān) means a circle or ring, and it also counts laps, as in 跑三圈 (pǎo sān quān, run three laps). It is common for social circles and fandoms, like 娱乐圈 (yúlèquān) or 朋友圈 (péngyouquān), the WeChat Moments feed. Example: 他每天在操场跑五圈。(Tā měitiān zài cāochǎng pǎo wǔ quān.) He runs five laps around the field every day.

圈 is an enclosure 囗 wrapped around 卷 (juǎn, to roll up). Picture something rolled up inside a fence, going round and round in a circle.

Common mistake: Learners often read 圈 as quān in every word, but for an animal pen it is juàn, as in 猪圈 (zhūjuàn, pigsty). Also do not confuse the inner part 卷 with 券 (quàn, ticket), which has 刀 at the bottom instead of 㔾.

圈 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ们men在zài前qián门mén上shàng挂guà了le一yí个gè圣shèng诞dàn花huā圈quān。

We hung a Christmas wreath on the front door.

我wǒ每měi个gè星xīng期qī日rì礼lǐ拜bài完wán都dōu买mǎi甜tián甜tián圈quān。

I buy donuts every Sunday after church.

你nǐ的de名míng字zì怎zěn么me圈quān了le？

Why is your name circled?

请qǐng圈quān出chū正zhèng确què答dá案àn。

Please circle the right answer.

我wǒ有yǒu几jǐ个gè甜tián甜tián圈quān。

I've got some donuts.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

圈 quān · circle · 11 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 圈.

圈套	quāntào	trap; snare; trick
圈子	quānzi	circle; ring
演艺圈	yǎnyìquān	show business
圈圈	quānquan	to draw a circle; cliques
项圈	xiàngquān	necklace
圆圈	yuánquān	circle
转圈	zhuànquān	to rotate; to twirl
兜圈子	dōuquānzi	to encircle; to go around
黑眼圈	hēiyǎnquān	dark circles (under one's eyes); black eye
猪圈	zhūjuàn	(lit. and fig.) pigsty
娱乐圈	yúlèquān	the entertainment world; show business
绕圈子	ràoquānzi	to go around in circles; to make a detour

Questions about 圈

What does 圈 mean?

圈 (quān) means "circle; ring; loop; (fig.) social circle; niche group; community; fandom" and is used as a noun and verb.

How do you write 圈?

圈 is made of 1 character: 圈 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.

Is 圈 an HSK word?

Yes. 圈 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 圈 and 圆?

圆 (yuán) describes the round shape itself and is often an adjective meaning round. 圈 (quān) is the ring or loop, and it can also be a verb or a counter for laps. Together they form 圆圈 (yuánquān), a circle.

How do you use 圈 as a verb?

As a verb, quān means to draw a circle around something or to surround it. For example, 把正确答案圈出来 (bǎ zhèngquè dá'àn quān chūlai) means circle the correct answer. Read juān, it means to lock up or pen in, as in 把鸡圈起来 (bǎ jī juān qǐlai).