yán
adjective

Meanings

  1. 1 winding
  2. 2 wriggling

Examples

HSK 7-9
Xiǎoxī wānyán qūzhé de liúguò píngyuán.
The stream winds and twists across the plain.
HSK 7-9
Chángchéng wānyán zài shānlǐng shàng.
The Great Wall snakes over the mountain ridges.

Tips

usage
Bound character: it lives almost entirely inside 蜿蜒 (winding). Learn the pair, not the single , which you will not meet alone in modern Chinese.

Components

radical
chóng
insect; worm
Left-side insect radical . It marks the snake-like, crawling image behind when it pairs up in 蜿蜒.
phonetic
yán
to extend; prolong
Right side gives both the exact sound and a real clue to meaning: means 'to extend', and a snaking line is exactly something that extends and stretches out.

Stroke Order

yán