Chinese word

原

Pronunciation

Pinyinyuán

Meaning

  • adjectiveoriginal

Example

我还是按原计划去做。wǒ hái shì àn yuán jì huà qù zuò

I am still following the original plan.

Illustration for 原 (original)

More examples

考古学家研究原始社会的遗物。káo gǔ xué jiā yán jiū yuán shǐ shè huì de yí wù

Archaeologists study the relics of primitive society.

Core concept

The untouched starting state from which later versions or changes develop.

Common phrases

  • 原始社会yuán shǐ shè huì

    primitive society

  • 原型yuán xíng

    prototype

Similar words

原来的yuán lái de: Describes an earlier state or arrangement that existed before the present one.
本来的běn lái de: Describes the natural or inherent character something has from the beginning.
原始的yuán shǐ de: Describes a primitive form close to its earliest stage of development.

Definition in Chinese

表示事物最初、未经过改变的状态，即本来的样子。biǎo shì shì wù zuì chū wèi jīng guò gǎi biàn de zhuàng tài jí běn lái de yàng zi

Word origin

原 (yuán, "original") first referred to a source or open ground, and its sense developed toward what lies at the beginning or serves as the base.

Usage tips

  • English original can mean newly created and inventive, whereas 原 (yuán, "original") usually points back to an earlier state or source.

Other meanings

  • initialadjective
  • firstadjective

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word