玩 (wán): to play; to have fun

Meanings

1 to play; to have fun
2 to toy with; to dabble in

Characters

玩

wán

to play; to have fun

Examples

孩子们在外面玩。

Háizi men zài wàimiàn wán.

The children are playing outside.

我们去哪儿玩？

Wǒmen qùnǎr wán?

Where shall we go have fun?

Tips

usage

玩 is versatile: 玩游戏 (wán yóuxì, play games), 好玩 (hǎowán, fun/interesting), 玩具 (wánjù, toy), 玩笑 (wánxiào, joke). It can also mean 'to go out/hang out': 出去玩 (chūqù wán).

grammar

玩 can be used without an object to mean 'have fun' or 'hang out': 周末我们一起出去玩吧 (Let's go out and have fun this weekend).

Components

radical

王 wáng

jade radical (left-side form of 玉)

Left-side jade radical (the 王-shape used as the indexing form of 玉 jade). It signals that 玩 originally meant to fondle or handle a piece of jade — the appreciative play of a connoisseur. The general sense of having fun grew out from there. Distinguished from 王 king by position only.

phonetic

元 yuán

origin; first (here phonetic)

Right side gives the sound: 元 yuán shifts to 玩 wán — initial drop with the rime preserved, a typical phonetic pattern. The first/primary meaning of 元 is irrelevant here; pure sound borrowing. Same phonetic in 完 wán (complete), 院 yuàn (courtyard), 远 yuǎn (far).