蜿蜒

wānyán

verb #29,719

Meanings

小河蜿蜒流过田野。

Xiǎohé wānyán liúguò tiányě.

The stream winds through the fields.

山路蜿蜒曲折，十分难走。

Shānlù wānyán qūzhé, shífēn nán zǒu.

The mountain road winds and twists, making it very difficult to travel.

memory

Both 蜿 and 蜒 have the insect radical 虫, evoking the wriggling motion of a snake or worm — exactly the winding movement 蜿蜒 describes.

蜿 wān

蜒 yán