juàn / quān / juān
noun HSK 7-9 #1,319

Meanings

  1. 1 livestock pen; enclosure; sty; fold

Examples

HSK 4
Yángjuàn zài cūnzi de dōngbian.
The sheepfold is on the east side of the village.
HSK 5
Nóngmín bǎ yáng gǎn jìn juàn lǐ.
The farmer drove the sheep into the pen.
HSK 5
Zhūjuàn xūyào měitiān dǎsǎo.
The pigsty needs cleaning every day.

Tips

usage
The juàn reading is reserved for animal enclosures: 猪圈 (pigsty), 羊圈 (sheepfold), 圈养 (rear in captivity). If the 'enclosure' is metaphorical (social, geometric) use quān; if it's a literal pen for livestock use juàn.
mistakes
This reading is the pen itself, a noun. Penning an animal up is the verb , first tone. A third reading of the same character, easy to lose because it differs from this one only by tone.

Components

radical
wéi
enclosure
Outer enclosure radical (wéi) - wraps the phonetic to depict the fenced boundary of a livestock pen. The frame is the meaning here: a closed perimeter holding animals inside.
phonetic
juǎn
scroll; roll
Inner supplies the sound. The juàn reading preserves the phonetic more faithfully than the quān reading does - the tone shifted but the rime stayed close to juǎn.

Stroke Order

juàn