What does 远 mean in Chinese?

远 (yuǎn) means "far" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 2.

How do you write 远?

远 is written with 7 strokes, starting from the 辶 (walk) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 远?

The radical of 远 is 辶 (walk, Kangxi radical #162). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 道, 过, 通, 运.

How many strokes does 远 have?

The Chinese character 远 has 7 strokes.

What HSK level is 远?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 远 is a character to recognise at HSK 2.

远 (yuǎn): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

远

yuǎn

far

HSK 2 character 7 strokes Radical: 辶 (walk)

Quick Answer

远 (yuǎn) means "far" with 7 strokes, radical 辶 (walk), HSK 2 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 远 →Animated stroke-order for 远 →

Pronunciation

yuǎn

Meaning

Primary: far

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

远 (traditional 遠) is a phono-semantic compound. The semantic radical is 辵 (walking, now 辶), indicating motion or distance travelled. The phonetic element in the traditional form is 袁 (yuán), which originally depicted a long robe. The simplified form 远 replaces 袁 with 元 (yuán), chosen purely for matching pronunciation and stroke economy.

Form evolution

Bronze and seal forms of 遠 show 辵 paired with 袁, the robe graph. Clerical script regularised 辵 into 辶 and stabilised the right-hand component. In 1956 the mainland simplification substituted 元 for 袁, since both share the reading yuán and 元 is much simpler to write. Taiwan and Hong Kong continue to use 遠.

How the meaning evolved

The original and modern meaning is far, distant in space. From spatial distance it extended to temporal remoteness (远古 antiquity), emotional or social distance (疏远 to become estranged), and abstract remoteness of connection (远亲 distant relatives). The core sense has been stable since the bronze age.

Cultural note

The proverb 路遥知马力,日久见人心 (a long road reveals a horse's strength, long time reveals a person's heart) uses the distance sense to talk about judging character. Learners often pair 远 with 近 as the canonical near-far opposition taught in HSK 2.

Mnemonic

Walking beyond the origin — far

Decomposition

远=元component+辶radical

Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.

Basic info

Pinyin	yuǎn
Meanings	far
Stroke count	7 strokes
Radical	辶 (#162: walk)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 2
Frequency	#1050 most common

Example sentences

北京离上海很远。
Běijīng lí Shànghǎi hěn yuǎn.
Beijing is very far from Shanghai.
From 远 (HSK 2)
我会永远记住。
Wǒ huì yǒngyuǎn jìzhù.
I'll remember forever.
From 永远 (HSK 4)