The character 员 — “worker”: how to write it and what it means
worker, member
The Chinese character 员 is read yuán and means “worker, member”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 员
员 has 7 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 员, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 员 is made of
On top, 口 “mouth”; below, 贝 “shell”.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 员
- 运动员athleteHSK 3
- 会员member (of a club)HSK 4
- 人员staff, personnelHSK 4
- 演员actorHSK 4
- 队员team memberHSK 4
- 售票员ticket seller, conductorHSK 4
- 成员member (of a group)HSK 5
- 员工employees, staffHSK 5
- 乘务员attendant, stewardHSK 5
- 飞行员pilotHSK 5
- 公务员civil servantHSK 5
- 学员student (of a course), traineeHSK 6
- 职员employee, staff member (office)HSK 6
- 伤员injured person, woundedHSK 6
- 官员official, functionaryHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 员?
员 has 7 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 员 mean?
员 means “worker, member”. It appears in 运动员 (“athlete”), 会员 (“member”), 人员 (“staff”), 演员 (“actor”).
How do you pronounce 员?
员 is read yuán. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 员 have?
7 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 员 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free