HSK 4 · Work

演员 yǎnyuán “actor or actress” in Chinese

Traditional 演員

What 演员 means

  1. actor or actress
  2. performer
  3. actor
  4. actress

How to say 演员

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale演yǎn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale员yuán2nd tone, rising

演员 in a sentence

  1. 你最喜欢的演员是谁？

    Nǐ zuì xǐhuan de yǎnyuán shì shéi?

    Who’s your favourite actor?

    Sentence #6120154 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  2. 我从没听说过这个演员。

    Wǒ cóng méi tīngshuō guo zhè ge yǎnyuán.

    I’ve never heard of this actor.

    Sentence #784393 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 演员们一边唱，一边跳，表演得好极了。

    Yǎnyuánmen yìbiān chàng, yìbiān tiào, biǎoyǎn de hǎo jíle.

    Singing and dancing at the same time, the performers put on an excellent show.

    Sentence #395883 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 演员 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 演 (yǎn) with each of its parts in a different colour
演yǎnto perform; to stage
  • 氵water form of 水 · shuǐMeaning part
  • 寅part of the characterSound part
The character 员 (yuán) with each of its parts in a different colour
员yuánperson engaged in a certain field
  • 口mouth · kǒu
  • 贝sea shell · bèiMeaning part

How to write 演员

演 14 strokes · 员 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

演员 (yǎnyuán) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 演员 (yǎnyuán). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 演员

Words with 演

演出yǎnchū · to act (in a play)表演biǎoyǎn · to perform演讲yǎnjiǎng · speech导演dǎoyǎn · director (of a film or play)演绎yǎnyì · to deduce演习yǎnxí · military exercise扮演bànyǎn · to play the role of演奏yǎnzòu · to perform (on an instrument)演变yǎnbiàn · to evolve

Words with 员

服务员fúwùyuán · waiter员yuán · (suffix) member运动员yùndòngyuán · athlete售货员shòuhuòyuán · salesperson人员rényuán · staff员工yuángōng · employee裁员cáiyuán · to cut staff委员wěiyuán · committee member成员chéngyuán · member动员dòngyuán · to mobilise

More words: School, Work & Culture

师傅shīfu · master收入shōurù · income售货员shòuhuòyuán · salesperson现金xiànjīn · cash应聘yìngpìn · to apply for a job招聘zhāopìn · to invite applications for a job职业zhíyè · occupation作家zuòjiā · writer

FAQs

演员 (yǎnyuán) means “actor or actress” or “performer”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it yǎnyuán: yǎn with a 3rd tone, then yuán with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 演员 is written 演員. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yanyuan with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 演员 from the suggestions. Typing yanyuan into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
演员 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.