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原: original

By September 25, 2013October 6th, 2015Chinese Word, Japanese Word, Language-Learning

 

原 yuán

adverb
: original; primary; raw; cause; a plain

Kun Reading

原 | はら hara

noun
: field; prairie; tundra

On Reading

原 | げん gen

 Usage:
 

原來[来] yuan2lai2: original; as it turns out
原諒[谅] yuan2liang4: to excuse; forgive
原則[则] yuan2ze2: principle [げんそく gensoku]
原理 yuan2li3: principle; theory [げんり genri]
原因 yuan2yin1: root cause; reason [げんいん genin]
原料 yuan2liao4: raw material [げんりょう genryou]
原本 yuan2ben3: originally
原子 yuan2zi: atom [げんし genshi]
草原 cao3yuan2: grassland; prairie; savannah
[そうげん sougen OR くさはら kusahara]
平原 ping2yuan2: field; plain; moor [へいげん heigen]
高原 gao1yuan2: plateau [こうげん kougen]
復原 fu4yuan2: to return to the former state; heal [ふくげん fukugen]
還原 huan2yuan2: to restore to the original state; reduction (chem)

Japanese
原宿 harajuku (meadow lodging):
a district in Shibuya ward (from Harajuku station to Omotesando), Tokyo, Japan

 Etymology:
 
象形 Pictographic.
白 white + 水 water = 泉 spring (water was corrupted into 小: small)
Spring 泉 (quan2: spring [water source]) under a
cliff 厂 (han4: picture of a cliff) [radical 27]  

假借 Phonetic Loan.
Original form of 源 (yuan2: root; source)

 Examples:
 
起火原因不明。
(qi3huo3 yuan2yin1 bu4ming2)
The cause of the fire is not known

 

Resources: Chinese Dictionary | Japanese Dictionary

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