于 (yú): in; at; to

Meanings

1 in; at; to
2 from; by (literary)
3 with regard to

Characters

于

yú

at; in; to (literary preposition)

Examples

他生于1990年。

Tā shēngyú yī jiǔ jiǔ líng nián.

He was born in 1990.

关于这件事，我不太清楚。

Guānyú zhè jiàn shì, wǒ bútài qīngchǔ.

Regarding this matter, I'm not very clear.

终于到了！

Zhōngyú dào le!

Finally arrived!

Tips

usage

于 is a literary/formal preposition meaning 'at/in/to.' In modern Chinese, it mostly survives in set compounds: 关于 (about), 对于 (regarding), 终于 (finally), 由于 (due to), 属于 (to belong to).

grammar

于 is the classical equivalent of 在 (at/in). You'll see it in formal writing and fixed expressions, but 在 is preferred in everyday speech.

Components

radical

二 èr

two; horizontal bars

Two horizontals are the indexing radical. Reading them as the number 二 is a visual mnemonic — historically they're the upper and lower bars of an old wind-instrument or yoke depiction. Radical assignment is conventional rather than etymological, but gives 于 a clean filing slot.

ideograph

亅 jué

vertical hook stroke

The hook stroke cuts down through the two horizontals — together a stylised wind-instrument shape. Early 于 was a phonetic borrow used as the preposition 'at, to'. The hook visually distinguishes 于 from 二; treat it as the binding mark locking the structure together.