圆

The Chinese character 圆 (yuán) for "circle" or "round" is composed of two parts: the radical 囗 (wéi) and the phonetic component 員 (yuán). The radical 囗 represents an enclosure or boundary, while the phonetic component 員 originally meant "full" or "complete". Together, these two components suggest the idea of a complete or perfect circle.The character 圆 has a long history in Chinese writing, dating back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). It was originally written as 圜 (huán), which was a pictograph of a circle. Over time, the character evolved into its current form, 圆.The character 圆 is used in a variety of words and phrases related to circles and roundness. For example, it is used in the word 圆形 (yuán xíng) for "circle", 圆周 (yuán zhōu) for "circumference", and 圆桌 (yuán zhuō) for "round table". It is also used in the phrase 圆满 (yuán mǎn) for "complete" or "perfect".The character 圆 is a versatile character that can be used in a variety of contexts. It is an important character for HSK learners to know, as it is used frequently in both spoken and written Chinese.