鸳 (yuān) is a Chinese character meaning “mandarin duck (esp”. It is written from 夗 (sound component in 苑 / 宛 (yuàn / wǎn)) and 鸟 (bird), one above the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “mandarin duck (male)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
夗 + 鸟
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字 (鴛，鴛鴦也。从鳥夗聲); modern glyph split verified against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–4 = 夗, 5–9 = 鸟
Memory aid
A bird (鸟) curled up (夗) asleep on the water — the mandarin drake never rests far from its mate.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 鸳鸯yuān yāngmandarin ducks; an inseparable couple鸳 = yuān
- 鸳鸯锅yuān yāng guōtwo-flavour split hot pot鸳 = yuān
Go deeper
All readings
mandarin duck (male)
mandarin duck (esp. the male); used in 鸳鸯
鸳鸯中的雄鸟，一般只用在「鸳鸯」一词里。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 鸳鸯yuān yāngmandarin ducks; an inseparable couple鸳 = yuān
- 鸳鸯锅yuān yāng guōtwo-flavour split hot pot鸳 = yuān
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 鸳 mean?
鸳 (yuān) means mandarin duck (esp. the male); used in 鸳鸯.
How do you pronounce 鸳?
It is pronounced yuān.
What parts is 鸳 made of?
夗 (sound component in 苑 / 宛 (yuàn / wǎn)) and 鸟 (bird), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字 (鴛，鴛鴦也。从鳥夗聲); modern glyph split verified against hanzi-writer-data strokes 0–4 = 夗, 5–9 = 鸟. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 鸳 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 鸳?
鸟. 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 鸳?
Common ones are 鸳鸯 and 鸳鸯锅. The reading of 鸳 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.