沿
yán HSK6

follow a course

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approved by cochleoid · Oct 30, 2025, 02:05 PM · Reviewed by cochleoid on Oct 30, 2025, 02:05 PM

fixed own component stroke count mistake. oops

Changed fields: strokeDataSimp, fragmentsSimp, historicalImages

Components

Meaning component
shui, shuǐ water

water

Sound component
yǎn a marsh at the foot of the hills

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartywenlon go along (a river); follow

說文解字

《說文》:“沿,緣水而下也。从水,聲。《春秋傳》曰:‘王沿夏。’”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica