员 (yuán) - Member, personnel, employee & a person engaged in some field of activity

员Tone 2

yuán ｜ 7 strokes ｜ radical: 口

喻悦

员 · yuán

Member, personnel, employee;

a person engaged in some field of activity;

also used as a measure word for capable people.

Member, personnel, employeea person engaged in some field of activityalso used as a measure word for capable

Usage highlights

EmployeeMemberCrew memberActor/actressAthleteClerk

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • 客— guest/customer (vs. employee)
  • 主— host/owner (vs. staff)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • He is a company employee (公司员工).
  • I am a member of this organization (组织成员).
  • She works as a salesperson (售货员).
  • We need more teaching staff (教员).

Collocations

  • Employee(员工)
  • Member(成员)
  • Crew member(船员)
  • Actor/actress(演员)
  • Athlete(运动员)
  • Clerk(店员)

Idioms

  • Outstanding person(员员)
  • Full staff(全员)
  • All members present(全员到齐)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Originally depicted a round object (related to 圆), later borrowed for its sound to mean 'personnel'.
  • Commonly used in occupational titles in modern Chinese, indicating a person engaged in specific work.

FAQ