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Choosing Mnemonics

Pick the mnemonic story that sticks best for you by clicking its ☆ — there's no wrong choice, and you'll be able to write your own soon. Then press Continue.

yuán = yu + an2
surname Yuan / the Yuan or Mongol dynasty (1279-1368)
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yuán = yu + an2
currency unit (esp. Chinese yuan) / first / original / primary / fundamental / constituent / part / era (of a reign) / meta- (prefix) / (math.) argument / variable / (Tw) (geology) eon
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How to pronounce 元

MandarinBanana teaches pronunciation with the Marilyn Method: every Pinyin syllable is one initial plus one final, the initial becomes a person, an animal or a deity, and the final becomes a place in your memory palace — with the tone deciding which part of that place the scene happens in. Remember the little story below for each half and the whole syllable comes back with them.

= yu initial

Yu is for Yu the Great who tamed the floods.

By Matthias • updated 5 months ago
+ an2 final

In the anthill’s kitchen.

By Matthias • updated 5 months ago

元 character breakdown

Chinese characters are built out of smaller characters. Each component carries a mnemonic symbol - one concrete object that stands in for it - and a mnemonic story hands those objects to the person and the place that stand for the pronunciation. Learn a component once and every character that reuses it gets easier.

Component Translations
èr = Ø + Ø4
two / 2 / (Beijing dialect) stupid
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rén = r + (e)n2
variant of 人[ren2] / "person" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 10), occurring in 兒, 兀, 兄 etc
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ér = Ø + Ø2
child / son
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non-syllabic diminutive suffix / retroflex final
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= y + Ø1
one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire; whole; all; throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit
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= w + Ø4
cut off the feet / rising to a height / towering / bald
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Characters with 元 as component

wán = w + an2
variant of 玩[wan2] / Taiwan pr. [wan4]
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wán = w + an2
to play / to have fun / to trifle with / toy / sth used for amusement / curio or antique (Taiwan pr. [wan4]) / to keep sth for entertainment
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yuán = yu + an2
surname Yuan
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Words with 元

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American dollar / US dollar
head of state
element / element of a set / chemical element

Sentences with 元

元 currently does not appear in any sentence.

Want to remember 元 for good?

Make it your learning target and MandarinBanana works out the shortest route to it: the two sounds its syllable is built from, then the components of the character itself, one short step at a time. No account needed to start.

yuán

2 translations

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Prompt snippets

The coin is a heavy, lustrous 24-karat gold coin featuring a high-relief profile of a laurel-crowned monarch on its mirror-polished face and thick, deeply milled edges.