焉 (yān): where (literary interrogative)

Meanings

1 where (literary interrogative)
2 how (literary interrogative)
3 therein; thereupon (literary sentence-final particle)
4 used in names

Characters

焉

yān

where; how; therein (classical particle)

Examples

心不在焉，做什么都出错。

Xīn bù zài yān, zuò shénme dōu chū cuò.

When one's heart is not in it, everything goes wrong.

皮之不存，毛将焉附？

Pí zhī bù cún, máo jiāng yān fù?

If the skin is gone, where will the hair attach? (If the foundation is lost, what will sustain the rest?)

Tips

grammar

焉 is a Classical Chinese particle with multiple functions: interrogative ('where/how'), sentence-final filler similar to 于此 ('therein'), or an emphatic marker. It survives mainly in idioms like 心不在焉 (absent-minded) and classical quotations.