元 (yuán) - First, primary, fundamental & origin, beginning

元Tone 2

yuán ｜ 4 strokes ｜ radical: 儿

喻悦

元 · yuán

First, primary, fundamental;

origin, beginning;

unit of currency (yuan);

head, chief;

in Chinese history, the Yuan dynasty.

First, primary, fundamentalorigin, beginningunit of currency (yuan)

Usage highlights

Yuan dynastyCurrency unitElementaryOriginChiefFirst month

Synonyms

  • 首— head, chief
  • 始— beginning, start
  • 本— origin, root

Antonyms

  • 末— end, last
  • 终— end, finish

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The Chinese currency is called yuan (元).
  • The first month of the year is January (元月).
  • He is the CEO of the company (元首).
  • We study elementary mathematics (元数学).

Collocations

  • Yuan dynasty(元朝)
  • Currency unit(元)
  • Elementary(元)
  • Origin(元)
  • Chief(元首)
  • First month(元月)

Idioms

  • Open up a new era(开创新纪元)
  • Return to the origin(返本归元)
  • The head and the tail(元首股肱)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • In ancient China, '元' was used to denote the beginning or origin of things, such as the first year of an era (元年).
  • As a currency unit, '元' is the basic unit of Renminbi, symbolizing economic foundation.
  • The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) was established by Kublai Khan, marking the first time a non-Han ethnic group unified China.

FAQ