丸 (wán) - pill, pellet, ball & small round object

丸Tone 2

wán ｜ 3 strokes ｜ radical: 丶

婷婉

丸 · wán

pill, pellet, ball;

small round object;

used as a counter for pills.

pill, pellet, ballsmall round objectused as a counter for pills.

Usage highlights

PillPelletMeatballFish ballClay ballTest丸

Synonyms

  • 球— ball, sphere
  • 粒— grain, pellet
  • 丹— pill, elixir (especially red medicinal pill)

Antonyms

  • 方— square (shape antonym)
  • 片— slice, tablet (form antonym)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • Take this pill (药丸) after meals.
  • Children like to play with marbles (弹丸).
  • The meatball (肉丸) is delicious.
  • He formed the clay into a ball (泥丸).

Collocations

  • Pill(药丸)
  • Pellet(弹丸)
  • Meatball(肉丸)
  • Fish ball(鱼丸)
  • Clay ball(泥丸)
  • test pill(Test丸)

Idioms

  • Down in one gulp(一丸泥)
  • A pill to cure all ills(万应灵丸)
  • As easy as turning over one's hand(易如反掌, sometimes uses 丸 metaphorically)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Historically used for small round objects, especially medicinal pills in traditional Chinese medicine.
  • In Japanese, 丸 (maru) is a common suffix for ship names and sometimes used in given names.

FAQ