妍 yán — beautiful · English

妍

yán

beautiful

At a glance · 妍

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

小篆从女，幵声，本义为巧慧、美丽。形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为美好、艳丽。

Structure

形声字，从女（意符），幵（yán）为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinyán

Radical女

Strokes7

UnicodeU+598D

Character type形声

Theme德行

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English beautiful Beautiful or lovely.

Français belle; jolie Belle ou jolie.

Español bella; hermosa Bella o hermosa.

العربية جميلة جميلة أو حسنة.

Русский прекрасная Красивая или прелестная.

Common words

妍yánbeautiful
妍丽yán lìbeautiful

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