衍

yǎn

yǎnspelled as ian · 3rd tone — spelling rules

to spread out · to develop

Radical: 行 Strokes: 9

Structure: Left-middle-rightFrequency: Less common

Same radical

行衡衔街衙衢

Same radical

行衡衔街衙衢

New to Chinese?Start with pinyin·See the learning path

Stroke Order · 9 strokes (click to expand)

Click the button below to start stroke animation

Character Decomposition

衍=行+氵

Etymology

Water 氵 going in all directions 行

Meanings

to spread out

to develop

to overflow

to amplify

superfluous

yǎn

Loading examples…

Words with 衍 159 total

to elaborate (on a theme) · to expound (the classics) · perfunctory · to skimp · to botch · to do sth half-heartedly or just for show · barely enough to get by敷衍fū yǎn to multiply · to reproduce · to increase gradually in number or quantity繁衍fán yǎn

Idioms with 衍 10 total Chain

(idiom) to do things half-heartedly; to merely go through the motions敷衍了事fū yǎn liǎo shì (idiom) to skimp on the job; to work half-heartedly; not to take the job seriously敷衍塞责fū yǎn sè zé