Dictionary › 奄

奄

yǎn

Character

What 奄 means

1. suddenly
2. abruptly
3. hastily
4. to cover
5. to surround

Other readings

奄 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• Yǎnsurname Yan
• yānvariant of {阉|yān}; to castrate; variant of {淹|yān}

Example sentences

• 他已经气息奄奄。
  He was nearing his end.
• 那个中了枪的人还没有死，但却已经奄奄一息了。
  Nàge zhōng le qiāng de rén hái méiyǒu sǐ, dàn què yǐjīng yǎnyǎnyīxī le.
  The shooting victim is alive, but just barely.

Words starting with 奄

• 奄奄一息yǎn yǎn yī xīdying; at one's last gasp
• 奄列yǎn lièomelet

Words containing 奄

• 气息奄奄qì xī yǎn yǎnto have only a breath of life (idiom)

Characters that look like 奄

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 查cháto research; to check; to investigate
• 每měieach; every
• 香xiāngfragrant; sweet smelling; aromatic
• 垂chuíto hang (down); droop; dangle
• 奎kuícrotch; 15th of the 28th constellations of Chinese astronomy
• 昼zhòudaytime

Sounds the same

Read yǎn, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 眼eye; (often used with 一; small hole
• 演to perform (a play etc); to stage (a show); (bound form) to develop; to play out…
• 衍to spread out; to develop; to overflow
• 掩to cover up; to conceal; to close (a door, book etc)…
• 琰gem; glitter of gems
• 广"house on a cliff" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 53), occurring in 店, 序…
• 鼹mole
• 偃to lie supine; to stop; to fall down
• 魇to have a nightmare
• 俨majestic; dignified
• 兖used in 兖州
• 弇to cover; trap