元 (yuán) is a Chinese character meaning “first”. It is written from 二 (two) and 儿 (child; legs), one above the other, and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “first; origin”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
二 + 儿
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: modern-glyph decomposition, verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke segmentation (strokes 1-2 = 二, strokes 3-4 = 儿)
Memory aid
Two flat lines (二) sitting on a pair of walking legs (儿): the very top of a person — the head, where everything starts. That is 元: first, origin.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 元旦yuán dànNew Year's Day (January 1)元 = yuán
- 亿元yì yuánhundred million yuan元 = yuán
- 元帅yuán shuàimarshal (highest military rank)元 = yuán
- 欧元ōu yuáneuro (currency)元 = yuán
- 元宵yuán xiāoLantern Festival (15th night of the first lunar month); sweet glutinous rice balls eaten then元 = yuán
Go deeper
All readings
first; origin
first; primary; origin; the basic unit of Chinese currency (yuan)
开始的、第一的；也是人民币的基本单位。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 元旦yuán dànNew Year's Day (January 1)元 = yuán
- 亿元yì yuánhundred million yuan元 = yuán
- 元帅yuán shuàimarshal (highest military rank)元 = yuán
- 欧元ōu yuáneuro (currency)元 = yuán
- 元宵yuán xiāoLantern Festival (15th night of the first lunar month); sweet glutinous rice balls eaten then元 = yuán
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 元 mean?
元 (yuán) means first; primary; origin; the basic unit of Chinese currency (yuan).
How do you pronounce 元?
It is pronounced yuán.
What parts is 元 made of?
二 (two) and 儿 (child; legs), one above the other. The recorded source is: modern-glyph decomposition, verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke segmentation (strokes 1-2 = 二, strokes 3-4 = 儿). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 元 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 元?
儿. 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 元?
Common ones are 元旦 and 亿元. The reading of 元 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.