玩 (wán) is a Chinese character meaning “to play”. It is written from 王 (king) and 元 (first; origin), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to play”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
王 + 元
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·玉部（玩，弄也。从玉元聲）；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：8 画 = 王字旁 4 画 + 元 4 画
Memory aid
A piece of jade (王, the jade radical) turned over and over in your first (元) hour of free time — you are playing with it.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 玩具wán jùtoy玩 = wán
- 好玩hǎo wánfun; amusing玩 = wán
- 玩火自焚wán huǒ zì fénhe who plays with fire gets burned (idiom)玩 = wán
- 玩耍wán shuǎto play; to frolic玩 = wán
Go deeper
All readings
to play
to play; to have fun; to amuse oneself; to handle or toy with something
做让自己觉得快乐的活动；也指拿在手里摆弄某样东西。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 玩具wán jùtoy玩 = wán
- 好玩hǎo wánfun; amusing玩 = wán
- 玩火自焚wán huǒ zì fénhe who plays with fire gets burned (idiom)玩 = wán
- 玩耍wán shuǎto play; to frolic玩 = wán
Sound component
元 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 玩 mean?
玩 (wán) means to play; to have fun; to amuse oneself; to handle or toy with something.
How do you pronounce 玩?
It is pronounced wán.
What parts is 玩 made of?
王 (king) and 元 (first; origin), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·玉部（玩，弄也。从玉元聲）；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：8 画 = 王字旁 4 画 + 元 4 画. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 玩 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 玩?
玉. 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 玩?
Common ones are 玩具 and 好玩. The reading of 玩 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.