原

yuán
#193 most
frequent character
primary, original, former, raw
adjective

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

原 shows water coming from a basin 厂, so it first meant 'source of a river'. From 'source' the meaning grew to 'first'. The river-source sense is now written 源.

Drawn as: spring water from basin

原 as a component in other characters

sound3 characters
愿螈塬
picture1 character
源

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Example Sentences

这个是原材料，不能直接使用。
zhègè shì yuáncáiliào ， bùnéng zhíjiē shǐyòng 。
This is the raw material and cannot be used directly.
这幅画是原作者的作品。
zhè fú huà shì yuánzuòzhě de zuòpǐn 。
This painting is the work of the original author.
他的原意不是这个。
tāde yuányì búshì zhègè 。
His original intention was not this.

Same Characters, Different Readings

原Yuan2
surname Yuan, (Japanese surname) Hara

Words with similar meanings

基本jīběn
basic
This word emphasizes the fundamental aspects similar to 'original'.
原始yuánshǐ
primitive
This word conveys the idea of being in a natural or unrefined state, like 'raw' in original.

Homophones

HSK 2
圆yuán
circle, round, circular, spherical
HSK 4
元yuán
first, primary, basic
员yuán
a person engaged in some field of activity (waiter
园yuán
garden, an area of land for growing plants
源yuán
root, source, origin
缘yuán
cause, reason, karma, fate

Words Starting With 原

原因yuán yīn
cause; origin; root cause; reason
原来yuán lái
original; former; originally; formerly; at first; so... actually
原谅yuán liàng
to excuse; to forgive; to pardon
原则yuán zé
principle; doctrine
原料yuán liào
raw material

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