yán
along; follow
Practice writing with stroke order guidance, audio pronunciation, and interactive exercises in our mobile app.
Step-by-step stroke order animations
Native speaker audio pronunciation
Interactive writing recognition
我们沿着海岸线散步。
Wǒmen yánzhe hǎi'ànxiàn sàn bù.
We walked along the coastline.
这条路一直沿着山脚延伸。
Zhè tiáo lù yīzhí yánzhe shānjiǎo yánshēn.
This road extends along the foot of the mountain.
他沿着这条小路走进了森林。
Tā yánzhe zhè tiáo xiǎolù zǒu jìnle sēnlín.
He walked into the forest along this path.
沿着 (yánzháo)
along
沿途 (yántú)
along the way
逆 (nì)
against
反 (fǎn)
opposite
The Chinese character 沿 (yán) is composed of two parts: the radical 氵(shuǐ), which represents water, and the phonetic component 延 (yán), which means "to extend" or "to stretch". The combination of these two components suggests the idea of water flowing along a path or extending in a certain direction.The character 沿 has several meanings, all of which are related to the concept of following or extending. It can be used as a verb, meaning "to follow", "to go along", or "to extend". For example, the sentence 他沿着河边走 (tā yánzhe hébiān zǒu) means "He walked along the riverbank". It can also be used as a preposition, meaning "along", "by", or "via". For example, the sentence 他沿着这条路走 (tā yánzhe zhè tiáo lù zǒu) means "He walked along this road".The character 沿 is also used in some compound words, such as 沿海 (yánhǎi), which means "along the coast", and 沿途 (yántú), which means "along the way". These compound words further illustrate the character's meaning of following or extending.In summary, the Chinese character 沿 (yán) is composed of the radical 氵(shuǐ) and the phonetic component 延 (yán). It has several meanings, all of which are related to the concept of following or extending. It can be used as a verb, a preposition, and in compound words.
