Chinese symbol for “former”
原
yuán
former; original; primary; raw
The closest CC-CEDICT match for former is 原 (yuán), defined as: former; original; primary; raw; level; cause.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “former”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 前者 | qián zhě | the former (i.e. the one mentioned first) |
| 过去 (過去) | guò qù | (in the) past; former; previous; to go over; to pass by |
| 原来 (原來) | yuán lái | original; former; originally; formerly; at first |
| 前 | qián | front; forward |
| 曾 | céng | once; already |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 原.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 原因 | yuán yīn | cause; origin |
| 原来 (原來) | yuán lái | original; former; originally; formerly; at first |
| 原则 (原則) | yuán zé | principle; doctrine |
| 原本 | yuán běn | originally; the original; original copy; original version |
| 原始 | yuán shǐ | first; original |
| 原理 | yuán lǐ | principle; theory |
See also: Japanese symbol for “former”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.