偃 (yǎn): to lie supine

Meanings

1 to lie supine
2 to cease
3 to lay down
4 Yan (surname)

Characters

偃

yǎn

to lie supine; to cease; to lay down

Examples

军队胜利后偃旗息鼓，暗中休整。

Jūnduì shènglì hòu yǎnqíxīgǔ, ànzhōng xiūzhěng.

After the army won, they furled the banners and stopped the drums to rest secretly.

大风中，野草都偃倒在地。

Dàfēng zhōng, yěcǎo dōu yǎn dǎo zài dì.

In the strong wind the grass all bent and lay flat.

Tips

usage

偃 is literary; most learners meet it in 偃旗息鼓 ('to lower the flags and silence the drums' — to call off an action or back down quietly). It is also a rare surname.

Components

radical

亻 rén

person

亻 is the left-side form of the person radical 人. It points to a human action — here, lying down or laying something to rest.

phonetic

匽 yǎn

to hide; to lie down (phonetic)

匽 gives the exact sound yǎn and also hints at the meaning, since it itself carries a 'concealed, lying low' sense — a tidy phono-semantic match.

Stroke Order

偃 yǎn

Related Words

偃旗息鼓 yǎnqí-xīgǔ #78,335

to lower the flags and still the drums / to cease fighting; to call off an action / (figuratively) to give up or back down quietly

倒下 dǎoxià HSK 7-9 #4,263

to fall down / to collapse / to be struck down

打倒 dǎdǎo HSK 7-9 #5,212

to overthrow / to knock down / down with

陈 chén #3,754

Chen (surname) / to display / to lay out / old; stale

倒数 dàoshǔ HSK 7-9 #4,209

to count backwards; to count down / inverse number; reciprocal (math)

编排 biānpái HSK 7-9 #5,284

to arrange / to lay out / to choreograph / to organize in sequence

封锁 fēngsuǒ HSK 7-9 #3,269

to blockade; to seal off / to lock down

暴露 bàolù HSK 6 #3,065

to expose; to reveal; to lay bare / to be exposed to (elements, danger)

拆 chāi HSK 5 #2,992

to tear open; to open (a package/letter) / to tear down; to demolish / to dismantle; to take apart

崩溃 bēngkuì HSK 7-9 #2,688

to collapse; to fall apart; to break down / to have a (mental/emotional) breakdown