卷 juǎn book
book; scroll; volume; curled up; to curl; to roll
How it came to be
A kneeling figure, with the rolled up block above it for the sound. There is no ancient form. It names something rolled: a scroll, and then what is written on one.
How it is used
- Polyphone by part of speech: juǎn as a verb "to roll/curl up" (卷起来 juǎn qǐlái), juàn as a noun for a bound document/exam.
- 试卷 shìjuàn "exam paper" and 问卷 wènjuàn "questionnaire" both use the juàn reading - very common in school and survey contexts.
- 卷入 juǎnrù "to be drawn/dragged into" is figurative, e.g. 卷入丑闻 (juǎnrù chǒuwén) "embroiled in a scandal".
Characters built with 卷
Words with 卷
Example sentences
- 我们对客户进行了问卷调查。 Wǒmen duì kèhù jìnxíngle wènjuàn diàochá.We did a survey of our clients.