员 yuán member
member; staff
How to remember 员: 口 mouth + 贝 sea shell = member. The shy girl opens her mouth for the audition, and the beach choir pins a sea shell on her jacket as their newest member.
Component breakdown
员 = 口 mouth + 贝 sea shell
- 口 mouth
- 贝 sea shell
The shy girl opens her mouth for the audition, and the beach choir pins a sea shell on her jacket as their newest member.
How it came to be
A cauldron with a round mouth on top. The word meant round first, then it counted people, and so the members of a staff. The cauldron wore down to a shell.
How it is used
- A suffix "-er / member of staff" naming a person by role: 演员 (yǎnyuán) actor, 运动员 (yùndòngyuán) athlete, 售票员 (shòupiàoyuán) ticket seller.
- 成员 (chéngyuán) member and 会员 (huìyuán) member differ: 成员 is a member of a group/team, 会员 is a paying/registered member of a club or app.
- 人员 (rényuán) = personnel/staff collectively: 工作人员 (gōngzuò rényuán) working staff.
Characters built with 员
Words with 员
- 运动员yùndòngyuánathleteHSK 3
- 演员yǎnyuánactor or actressHSK 4
- 人员rényuánstaffHSK 4
- 会员huìyuánmemberHSK 4
- 售票员shòupiàoyuánticket sellerHSK 4
- 队员duìyuánteam memberHSK 4
- 乘务员chéngwùyuánattendant on an airplane, train, boat etcHSK 5
- 公务员gōngwùyuáncivil servantHSK 5
- 员工yuángōngstaffHSK 5
- 成员chéngyuánmemberHSK 5
- 飞行员fēixíngyuánpilotHSK 5
- 伤员shāngyuánwounded personHSK 6
- 学员xuéyuánstudentHSK 6
- 官员guānyuánofficial (in an organization or government)HSK 6
- 职员zhíyuánoffice workerHSK 6
- 动员dòngyuánto mobilizeHSK 7
- 航天员hángtiānyuánastronautHSK 7
- 团员tuányuánmemberHSK 8
- 委员wěiyuáncommittee memberHSK 8
- 委员会wěiyuánhuìcommitteeHSK 8
- 裁员cáiyuánto cut staffHSK 9
- 雇员gùyuánemployeeHSK 9
Example sentences
- 她是女演员。 Tā shì nǚyǎnyuán.She's an actress.
- 他在批评员工。 Tā zài pīpíng yuángōng.He's criticizing his staff.
- 他想招聘新员工。 Tā xiǎng zhāopìn xīn yuángōng.He wants to recruit some new employees.
- 你们公司的员工数量是多少？ Nǐmen gōngsī de yuángōng shùliàng shì duōshao?How many employees work in your company?