焉
Character learning workspace

yān · why? where? how?

Master the form, understand its parts, and learn how it behaves in real Chinese.

Watch · inspect · write

Learn every stroke in 焉

Replay the complete order, pause on difficult movements, inspect one stroke at a time, then write it yourself with live correction.

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Stroke graphics: Make Me a Hanzi / Arphic Public License
Step-by-step explorer

See how 焉 is constructed

Switch between the accumulated form and the isolated movement of each stroke.

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Writing notes

Shape and proportion

11Total strokes

Count each continuous pen movement once, including turns and hooks.

Top-bottomCharacter structure

Keep the upper section balanced above the lower section.

灬Key radical

Use the highlighted radical in the animation as a visual anchor for remembering the form.

Print and practise

Download a 焉 writing sheet

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Includes the stroke sequence, progressive tracing, and blank writing squares. Generated locally in your browser.

Vocabulary in context

Common words with 焉

Open a word for its full breakdown, or listen before reading the meaning.

Read and listen

Example sentences

Notice where 焉 sits in each complete thought.

Tā zài kè táng shàng xīn bú zài yān.他在課堂上心不在焉。

He had his head in the clouds in class.

Source: Tatoeba #860981 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Tā xīn bú zài yān.他心不在焉。

He's absent-minded.

Source: Tatoeba #2040482 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Tā xīn bú zài yān de bǎ jū zǐ zhuàng zài le zhùzi shàng.她心不在焉的把車子撞在了柱子上。

By lack of attention, she hit the post with her car.

Source: Tatoeba #471441 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Bú rù hǔ xué, yān dé hǔ zǐ.不入虎穴,焉得虎子。

One may only catch the tiger cub by entering the tiger's den.

Source: Tatoeba #704463 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Shā jī yān yòng niú dāo.殺雞焉用牛刀。

Never use a cannon to kill a fly.

Source: Tatoeba #383707 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Turn reference into recall

How to study 焉 in context

  1. Say yān, then recall the core meaning: why? where? how?.
  2. Write all 11 strokes while keeping the top-bottom balanced.
  3. Use it in 异焉 (yì yān), meaning “feeling surprised at sth”.
  4. Read the complete sentence aloud once, then cover the translation and explain how 焉 works in that context.

Definitions and traditional forms are compiled from Make Me a Hanzi, HSK curriculum data, and CC-CEDICT. Sourced example sentences link to Tatoeba; editorial examples are labeled separately. Review data sources and licenses.