远 (yuǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “far”. It is written from 辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 元 (first; origin), one enclosing the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “far; distant”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
辶 + 元
Enclosing structure
Structure from: IDS 拆分 ⿺辶元，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–3 为「元」（横、横、撇、竖弯钩），笔画 4–6 为「辶」（点、横折折撇、平捺）
Memory aid
The road radical 辶 walks away from 元, the starting point — keep walking from where you began and you end up far away.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 永远yǒng yuǎnforever; always远 = yuǎnspoken asyóng yuǎn
- 远方yuǎn fāngdistant place; afar远 = yuǎn
Go deeper
All readings
far
far; distant; remote (in space, time or relationship)
距离长，跟「近」相对；也指时间久、关系疏。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 永远yǒng yuǎnforever; always远 = yuǎnspoken asyóng yuǎn
- 远方yuǎn fāngdistant place; afar远 = yuǎn
Sound component
元 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 远 mean?
远 (yuǎn) means far; distant; remote (in space, time or relationship).
How do you pronounce 远?
It is pronounced yuǎn.
What parts is 远 made of?
辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 元 (first; origin), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: IDS 拆分 ⿺辶元，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–3 为「元」（横、横、撇、竖弯钩），笔画 4–6 为「辶」（点、横折折撇、平捺）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 远 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 远?
辶. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 远?
Common ones are 永远 and 远方. The reading of 远 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.