圈 (quān) · circle; ring; loop

Meanings

1 circle; ring; loop
2 to encircle; to mark with a circle
3 group; circle (of people)
4 measure word for laps or rounds

Examples

HSK 4

请把正确答案圈出来。

Qǐng bǎ zhèngquè dá'àn quān chūlái.

Please circle the correct answer.

HSK 5

他绕着操场跑了三圈。

Tā rào zhe cāochǎng pǎo le sān quān.

He ran three laps around the track.

HSK 5

她在娱乐圈很有名。

Tā zài yúlèquān hěn yǒumíng.

She is very famous in the entertainment world.

Tips

usage

As a measure word 圈 counts laps or loops: 跑两圈 (run two laps). The 'social circle' sense drives modern slang - 娱乐圈 (showbiz), 饭圈 (fandom), 出圈 (go viral beyond your niche).

register

圈 is polyphonic. This entry covers the dominant quān reading (circle, loop, group). The juàn reading is a separate entry for animal pens (猪圈, 羊圈).

Components

radical

囗 wéi

enclosure

Outer enclosure radical (wéi) - the indexing radical, wrapping the phonetic on top, left, and bottom. The square frame visually depicts a closed boundary, supplying the 'ring / enclosed area' meaning. Same wrapping pattern in 国 (country), 园 (garden), 围 (surround).

phonetic

卷 juǎn

scroll; roll

Inner 卷 supplies the sound - juǎn drifted to quān through palatal shift, but both trace to the same Old Chinese velar series. The 'roll / curl' meaning also resonates: a circle is something curled into a closed loop. Same phonetic in 倦 (tired).