原 (yuán) — original, former; raw, unprocessed
Definition
原 is an adjective meaning 'original' or 'raw/unprocessed' (e.g. 原材料 'raw materials'). Pairs with nouns; not interchangeable with 主要 ('main/principal') or 原始 ('primitive / earliest, in time').
adjective
originalformerrawunprocessed
Easily confused
- 愿yuànlook-aliketo wish, to hope (often used in blessings and formal expressions)
- 员yuánsound-alike(suffix) person; employee; member
- 元yuánsound-alike(classifier) yuan, the basic unit of Chinese currency
- 圆yuánsound-alike(noun) circle
- 园yuánsound-alikegarden; park; (in compounds) a place for a specific purpose (e.g., kindergarten, botanical garden)
Examples
- 原，。Tā lí kāi le yuán dān wèi, qù le xīn gōng sī.He left his former workplace and went to a new company.
- 。Zhè xiē yuán cái liào shì cóng guó wài jìn kǒu de.These raw materials were imported from abroad.
- 。Qǐng bǎ dōng xī jì dào yuán dì zhǐ.Please send the stuff to the original address.
Appears in
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