Usage note
“原”表示最初的样子或状态。
“Yuán” biǎoshì zuìchū de yàngzi huò zhuàngtài.
“原” means the original appearance or state.
Context note
我们常用“原”来说原来的地方、原来的想法或原来的颜色。
Wǒmen cháng yòng “yuán” lái shuō yuánlái de dìfang, yuánlái de xiǎngfǎ huò yuánlái de yánsè.
We often use “原” to talk about the original place, original idea, or original color.
5 examples
这是原来的计划。
zhè shì yuán lái de jì huà。
This is the original plan.
我们回到了原来的教室。
wǒ men huí dào le yuán lái de jiào shì。
We returned to the original classroom.
原来的颜色是蓝色。
yuán lái de yán sè shì lán sè。
The original color is blue.
他保留了原来的名字。
tā bǎo liú le yuán lái de míng zì。
He kept the original name.
原来的房子很小。
yuán lái de fáng zi hěn xiǎo。
The original house was very small.
5 mini stories
小猫咪找到了原来的家。它很开心。
xiǎo māo mī zhǎo dào le yuán lái de jiā。 tā hěn kāi xīn。
The kitten found its original home. It was very happy.
原来的画被弄脏了。小丽重新画了一幅。
yuán lái de huà bèi nòng zāng le。 xiǎo lì chóng xīn huà le yì fú。
The original painting got dirty. Xiao Li drew a new one.
原来的路被堵住了。我们走了另一条路。
yuán lái de lù bèi dǔ zhù le。 wǒ men zǒu le lìng yì tiáo lù。
The original road was blocked. We took another road.
原来的玩具坏了。爸爸修好了它。
yuán lái de wán jù huài le。 bà ba xiū hǎo le tā。
The original toy was broken. Dad fixed it.
原来的朋友搬走了。小明很想他。
yuán lái de péng yǒu bān zǒu le。 xiǎo míng hěn xiǎng tā。
The original friend moved away. Xiao Ming misses him a lot.
Mini dialogue
Finding a book
A
这本书是新的吗？
Zhè běn shū shì xīn de ma?
Is this book new?
B
不，它是原版，很旧了。
Bù, tā shì yuánbǎn, hěn jiù le.
No, it's the original edition, very old.
Drawing a picture
A
你画的是什么？
Nǐ huà de shì shénme?
What are you drawing?
B
这是我的原创设计。
Zhè shì wǒ de yuánchuàng shèjì.
This is my original design.
Related words and contrasts
similar
原始
yuán shǐ
primitive; original
原始 emphasizes the earliest state, while 原 can mean original or plain.
similar
本来
běn lái
originally
本来 is often used as an adverb meaning 'originally', while 原 is a prefix or adjective.
related
平原
píng yuán
plain (flat land)
原 appears in compound words like 平原 (plain), showing its meaning of 'flat land'.