员yuán

员

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Simplified · Today

繁体

Traditional Chinese

員 (yuán, "member/personnel") preserves its traditional shape while the simplified 员 streamlined only the outer frame. The character originally combined a mouth (口) with a shell (貝) inside a frame, picturing someone counting or speaking—perhaps an official tallying goods. It survives as a common component in compounds like 損 (damage), 隕 (fall), and 韻 (rhyme), always carrying that ancient sense of voice or value.

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Shuowen

员. The image of a mouth inside a circle, as seen on oracle bones, depicting a group of people. The inner口represents each individual, the surrounding circle the collective, hence the original meaning of ‘a member of a group’. This structure has been preserved in the modern character, the circle becoming the outer strokes of 员, still conveying a person within a round assembly.

Pinyin

yuán· HSK 2

员yuán

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin