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韩元 (Hán yuán) — (classifier) South Korean won (currency unit)

Definition

Classifier for South Korean won (₩). Use this unit word (类词) when counting or pricing in Korean currency — the matching basic unit 类词 for yuan (Chinese yuan) is 块/元.

classifier
South Korean won (currency unit)

Examples

  • 韩元。
    Zhè ge miàn bāo shì bā qiān Hán yuán.
    This bread is eight thousand won.
  • 韩元。
    Tā yòng wǔ wàn Hán yuán mǎi le zhè shuāng xié.
    He bought these shoes with fifty thousand won.
  • 韩元。
    Wǒ qù hán guó shí huàn le yì bǎi wàn Hán yuán.
    I exchanged one million won when I went to South Korea.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

韩hánKorea
元yuáncurrency unit

韩 names Korea, and 元 marks the money unit.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 韓; 韩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
韋韋wéisurround
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn韓Hán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 韓 pairs 倝, a sound part, with 韋, a part meaning 'surround'; the simplified 韩 is a later shorthand.

Open 韩 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 元 shows a figure with two lines for a head, one connected to the body and one above it, emphasizing the head.

Open 元 →
Appears in
Money & Currency

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