宴 yàn — banquet; feast · English

宴

yàn

banquet; feast

At a glance · 宴

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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.

小篆从宀，晏声，本义为安闲、宴饮。形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为安息，引申为宴飨。

Structure

形声字，从宀（意符，屋下），晏（yàn）为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinyàn

Radical宀

Strokes10

UnicodeU+5BB4

Character type形声

Theme礼乐

Six languages, one character

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

English banquet; feast A banquet or feast.

Français banquet; festin Un banquet ou un festin.

Español banquete; festín Un banquete o festín.

العربية وليمة؛ عشاء وليمة أو وليمة.

Русский банкет; пир Банкет или пир.

Common words

宴会yàn huìbanquet
宴yànfeast

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