ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY
原
original; plain (n.)
yuán
10 strokes · 厂 (cliff) + 泉 (spring, compressed) · HSK 3
Where 原 comes from
A spring 泉 emerging under a cliff 厂 — the source of a river. Where water begins is where things begin: origin, original, and the wide plain a river carves.
原 in Chinese culture
原来 'so THAT's why' — the sound of sudden understanding. 原因 cause, 草原 grassland, 高原 plateau. Forgiveness is 原谅 — returning someone to their original standing.
Example
原来 yuánlái — so it turns out; originally
原来你是他的哥哥！
Yuánlái nǐ shì tā de gēge!
So YOU'RE his older brother!
How to remember it
A SPRING under the cliff — the ORIGIN of the river and of the story.
内蒙古大草原, the Inner Mongolian grasslands, and 青藏高原, the Tibetan Plateau — China's two great 原.
Same sound, different tones
Words unlocked by 原
原来 yuánlái
so it turns out
原因 yuányīn
cause
Related characters
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