元
yuán
HSK 4
#370 most
frequent character
first, primary, basic
adjective
Character breakdown
Source: Make Me a Hanzi.
元 draws a person 兀 with the head made large, and adds a mark 一 beside it. That gave the first meaning, 'a person’s head'. From there it grew to 'head', then 'first, primary', and 'origin'. The mark 一 is not the numeral one.
Drawn as: person with big head
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Example Sentences
这是我的第一本书。
zhè shì wǒde dì yīběnshū 。
This is my first book.
他是我最基本的朋友。
tāshì wǒ zuì jīběn de péngyǒu 。
He is my most basic friend.
这道题很简单，首先要理解题意。
zhè dào tí hěnjiǎndān ， shǒuxiān yào lǐjiě tí yì 。
This problem is very simple; first, you need to understand the question.
Grammar Points
Words with similar meanings
Homophones
Words Starting With 元
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