玩 wán play
play; have fun; hang out
How to remember 玩: 𤣩 king + 元 yuan = play. Wearing a paper crown, the little king of the playground charges one yuan to anyone who wants to play on his slide.
Component breakdown
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
玩 = 𤣩 king + 元 yuan
- 𤣩 king meaning
- 元 yuan sound
- 一 one
- 兀 towering
Wearing a paper crown, the little king of the playground charges one yuan to anyone who wants to play on his slide.
How it came to be
Jade gives the meaning and the other part the sound, because early toys were made of jade.
How it is used
- Play / have fun / hang out: 出去玩 (chūqù wán) go out and have fun, 玩游戏 (wán yóuxì) play games; broader than English play, it covers any leisure outing.
- 开玩笑 (kāi wánxiào) make a joke and 好玩 (hǎowán) fun build on it. Note: you 玩 for fun, but you 打 (dǎ) ball sports.
Words with 玩
- 好玩儿hǎowánrfun; enjoyable (spoken, erhua)HSK 1
- 开玩笑kāi wánxiàojokeHSK 4
- 游玩yóuwánto amuse oneselfHSK 4
- 玩具wánjùplaythingHSK 5
- 吃喝玩乐chī-hē-wán-lèliterally to eat, drink, play and be merryHSK 7
- 玩弄wánnòngto play withHSK 7
- 玩意儿wányìrthing; gadget; plaything (spoken, erhua)HSK 7
- 玩耍wánshuǎto play (as children do)HSK 9
Example sentences
- 孩子们玩得非常高兴。 Háizimen wán de fēicháng gāoxìng.The children were extremely happy playing.
- 爷爷在陪孙女玩。 Yéye zài péi sūnnǚ wánr.The grandfather is playing with his granddaughter.
- 喜欢玩游戏是孩子的天性。 Xǐhuan wánr yóuxì shì háizi de tiānxìng.A fondness for playing games is in the nature of children.
- 你在开玩笑吧？ Nǐ zài kāi wánxiào ba?Are you kidding?