谚 (yàn) is a Chinese character meaning “proverb”. It is written from 讠 (speech radical) and 彦 (accomplished scholar; talented person), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “proverb”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
讠 + 彦
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS (cjkvi-ids: ⿰讠彦); 说文解字: 諺，傳言也。从言彥聲
Memory aid
Words (讠) repeated by a wise scholar (彦) until everyone knows them — a proverb.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 谚语yàn yǔproverb; common saying谚 = yàn
Go deeper
All readings
proverb
proverb; saying; adage
谚语；在民间流传、简练而富有道理的固定语句。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 谚语yàn yǔproverb; common saying谚 = yàn
Sound component
彦 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 谚 mean?
谚 (yàn) means proverb; saying; adage.
How do you pronounce 谚?
It is pronounced yàn.
What parts is 谚 made of?
讠 (speech radical) and 彦 (accomplished scholar; talented person), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS (cjkvi-ids: ⿰讠彦); 说文解字: 諺，傳言也。从言彥聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 谚 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 谚?
讠. 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 谚?
Common ones are 谚语. The reading of 谚 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.